II 


PRACTICAL    LIFE; 

OR, 

WAYS  AND   MEANS 

FOR  DEVELOPING  CHARACTER  AND  RESOURCES. 


THE  INDIVIDUAL 

CONSIDERED     IN    REGARD    TO 

DOMESTIC   LIFE,   COMMON   SENSE,   PHYSICAL   CULTURE,   EDUCATION, 

SOCIAL  RELATIONS,  TRADES,  CLUBS,  BUSINESS,  BOOKS,  DRESS, 

LOVE,  MANNERS,  FLIRTATIONS,  DIVORCE,  MARRIAGE, 

INFORMATION,   LIMITATIONS   AND   RELIGION. 

THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY. 


BY 

* 

MRS.  JULIA  McNAIR  WRIGHT, 

ACTHOR  OF  "THE  COUPLETS  HOME,"  "LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  SACRED  8TOBT," 
"EARLY  (111  Hdl  OK  BRITAIN,"  ETC. 


" 'And ye ,  ok  younger  friends,  for  whom 
My  hearth  and  heart  keep  open  room, 

Come  smiling  through  the  shadcnvs  long : 
Be  with  me  while  the  sun  goes  down. 
And  with  your  cheerful  voices  drown 

The  minor  of  my  evensong." — WHITTIER. 


BRADLEY,   GAUltETSON   &  CO., 

PHILADELPHIA,  66  NORTH  FOURTH  STREET; 
BRANTFORD,  ONT. 

WILLIAM    GARRETSON    &    CO., 

COLUMBUS,  O.;  CHICAGO,  ILLS.;   NASHVILLE,  TENN.; 
ST.  LOUIS,  MO.;  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


TO  ALL 

WHO  WOULD  BE  BREAD-WINNERS  AS  WELL  AS  BREAD-EATERS, 

WHO  WOULD  LIVE  TO  SOME  PURPOSE, 


—  AND  — 


HONESTLY  DESIRE  TO  MAKE  THE  MOST  OF  THEMSELVES, 


THIS  WOKK 
IS  RESPECTFULLY  OFFERED 

BY 


Copyright  by  JULIA  McNAm  WRIGHT,  1881. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


"  If  one  short  volume  could  comprise 
All  that  is  witty,  good,  and  wise, 
How  would  it  be  esteemed  and  read !  " 


CHAPTER    FIRST. 

WISDOM  IN  CORNER  GROCERIES — Are  there  too  many  children  ? — Over- population, 
and  over-crowding — A  remedy  for  over-crowding  population — The  future  world- 
masters — Son  Samuel  grows  up  unexpectedly — "As  many  children  as  we  can 
provide  for" — How  they  can  provide  for  themselves — What  we  need  at  the  polls 
— What  do  parents  owe  their  children  ? — One  master  or  many — Love  grows 
downwards — What  is  natural  affection  ? — Nature  an  avenger — The  Alphabet 
and  the  Ten  Commandments — Three  points  where  we  fail — Undervaluing  chil- 
dren— Two  hundred  dollars  earned  by  children  in  a  summer — Robbing  chil- 
dren— Sickly  mothers — Sharing  calamities — Example — Nonage — Teaching  to 
reason — Forming  to  sound  judgments  —  FUSSINESS — Too  careful  restraint — 
What  shall  become  of  our  young  people  ? — New  trades — New  homes — Their 
future  and  their  fortunes — Supply  and  demand — Responsibility — A  Bureau  of 
Information 19 

CHAPTER    SECOND. 

COMMON-SENSE— Its  value— Its  Cultivation— What  is  most  needful  to  success  in  life? 
— Money? — Health? — Education? — The  proper  view  of  money — Dangers  of 
wealth  —  The  force  that  directs  to  proper  uses — A  common  thing — The  old 

,  word  Prudence — Misers  and  roues — Misers  of  learning — Health  abused — Men 
and  prize-oxen — The  true  idea  of  Hercules — BEING  MISERABLE — How  to  avoid 
being  miserable — Three  causes  of  this  feeling — Physical  causes — Unhappy  cir- 
cumstances— A  happy  temper  of  mind  —  Dangers  of  thinking  first  of  self — 
Sidney  Smith's  advice — Dangers  of  day-dreaming — Alnaschar  and  the  Milk- 
maid— Perseverance — Well-directed  efforts — Definitions  of  common-sense — Dr. 
Thomas  Reid,  Sir  Wm.  Hamilton — Cultivation  of  common-sense — In  ourselves 
— In  children — A  work  for  parents — Simple  lessons — Voltaire's  opinion — Jouffroy 
on  the  common-sense  of  philosophers — Pope's  commendation  of  sense — Com- 

(8) 


2054883 


4  CONTENTS. 

mon-sense  applied  to  education — Doing  good — Love  affairs — Dangers  of  ro- 
mance—Why romance  belongs  to  youth — Value  of  advice— Take  good  advice 
cheerfully— Submit  to  authority— Folly  of  insubordination— Undervaluing  pa- 
rental advice— Fathers  and  sons  :  mothers  and  daughters— How  to  spend  youth 

Study— Work,  economic —Spring  and  harvest— Value  of  diligence  —  False 

reasoning— We  are  creatures  of  the  future— MONEY  is  THE  OUTCOME  OF  LABOR 

— Responsibility  of  knowledge 37 

CHAPTER    THIRD. 

PHYSICAL  CULTURE — A  bad  physique — Prevalence  of  ill-health — Health  among 
students — Preachers — City  people — Christianity  and  good  health — SALUTLAND — 
The  influence  of  light  on  health — Sunshine  a  factor  in  health — Artificial  light — 
Dr.  Richardson's  opinion — Various  kinds  of  light — Their  dangers — What  is  best 
— Spend  as  little  time  as  possible  in  artificial  light — Angles  of  light — Top-lights — 
Windows  and  their  curtains — Health  and  fashion — Air — Airing  rooms — Use  of 
air— Bad  air— Water— Bathing— General  baths— Local  baths— Carbolic  baths- 
Bathing  the  head — Care  of  the  teeth — A  good  dentifrice — Borax — What  to  drjnk 
—Best  water — Hurtful  water — Filtered  water — Boiled  water — Food — Idiosyn- 
crasies in  regard  to  food — How  much  should  we  eat  ? — When  ? — How  often  ? — 
What  should  we  eat  ? — Value  of  brend — Of  milk — Of  fruit — Of  cereals — Danger 
of  eating  between  meals — Of  late  suppers — Of  over-eating — Nutritive  values — 
Digestion — Whiskey — Its  effects  on  health — Tobacco  and  its  dangers — Pies, 
tarts,  cakes,  candies-^-Sleep — Time  to  sleep — Sleep  until  rested — Best  time  to 
sleep — Napoleon's  rule — Franklin's — Dr.  Richardson's 56 

CHAPTER    FOURTH. 

PHYSICAL  CULTURE  CONTINUED — Rest — Varieties  of  rest — Rest  in  change  of  work 
— Play — Recreation — Vacations — Need  of  rest  for  students — Lawyers,  doctors, 
ministers — Relative  need  of  rest — Farmers  and  students — Recreation — Varieties 
of — When  most  needed — American  climate — Americans  a  nervous  people — 
Foreign  recreations — Play  for  the  young — Farmers'  vacations — Clerks — City- 
workers — Our  duty  to  them — Baron  Trenck — Exercise — Why  needed — Its  ef- 
fect on  blood  and  muscle — Exercise  for  a  shoemaker — For  a  seamstress 

Amount  of  exercise  varies  with  individual — Out-of-door  exercise — Over-exercise 
—Farming  as  a  hygienic  employment— Dress  and  physical  culture— Cold  and 
death— Exercise  for  students— Manual  employments— How  to  walk— A  proper 
position — Self-consciousness  destroys  gracefulness 75 

CHAPTER    FIFTH. 

LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT— The  beginning  of  the  end— Responsibilities  of  parents- 
Reason  for  having  an  Object  in  life— Remark  from  the  Spectator—  Drifting— The 


CONTENTS.  5 

Marble- workers — Worth  in  humble  things — A  wide  range — Clarinda'syowrwo/ — 
Occupations  of  mothers — Early  choice  of  a  life  work — Varieties  of  taste  in  the 
young — Constitutional  differences — Folly  of  pride — Despising  common  talents — 
Variability  of  children — Beware  of  pursuing  a  whim — Natural  defects — Demos-, 
thenes — Taste  and  passion — Genius  victorious — Cromwell — The  first  step— Our 
object  must  be  worth  pursuing — Consciousness  of  noble  aims — The  mark  of  a 
wise  man — Knowing  our  limits — Circumstances  to  be  considered — Washington — 
Duty  of  a  widow's  son — Danger  of  ambition — Addison — The  element  of  victory 
— Primary  need  of  sound  moral  nature — Building  on  piles — The  moral  law  in  the 
soul — Human  nature  weak — Penury  and  probity — A  sound  body — What  educa- 
tion is  indispensable — Be  fit  for  something — Fill  your  own  place — King  David — 
Aimless  efforts — Hobby  ridert — Our  powers  are  limited — Michael  Angelo — • 
Preparing  for  medical  profession — Preparing  for  farm-life — Pursuit  of  virtue — 
Practical  study — Hope — Despair — Causes  of  disappointment — Misapprehension 
of  ourselves — Misapprehension  of  life — Misapprehension  of  other  people's  rights 
— A  high  ideal — Uses  of  adversity — Danger  of  insufficient  preparation  for  work 
— Shoddy — Tyros — Hasty  choice  of  work — An  object  in  life  for  girls — Knowl- 
edge of  daily  duties — Elasticity  of  human  capacity — Great  workers 86 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

AMUSEMENTS — Value  of  amusements — Play  belongs  to  animal  life  —  Pleasure — 
Laughter — Use  of  Amusements  —  What  is  laughter? — Hobbes — Addison — 
Channing — Goodrich  —  The  Puritan^ — Divisions  of  amusement — Out-of-door 
recreations — In-door  recreations — Questionable  recreations — Swimming — Where 
to  swim — How  to  learn — Helps — What  to  wear — What  to  avoid — Boating — 
Value  of  rowing  to  girls — Sailing  a  boat — Building  a  boat — Navigation — Skating 
— Ancient  skates — In  Holland — Swift  skating — Dangers — Precautions — Six  rules 
— Fishing — Isaac  Walton — Mrs.  Kemble — What  to  avoid — Gunning — Destruc- 
tion of  animal  life — Of  birds — Shooting  at  a  mark — What  to  know  about  a  gun — 
Danger  of  ignorance — Military  drill — Manual  of  arms — Benefit  to  girls — Exam- 
ple— Gymnastics — Cricket — Base-ball — Foot-ball — Cautions  in  regard  to — Ten- 
pins and  bowls  for  girls — Physical  helpfulness  of  croquet — Absurd  dressing  for — 
Archery — In-door  games — Chess  —  Draughts  —  Logomacheie — Toys  —  Parlor- 
magic — Parlor  games — Questionable  amusements — Social  drinking — Horace — 
Cards — Arguments  for — Against  Gambling — A  dangerous  knowledge — Safety 
— Measured  by  rule — A  gambling  hell — Billiards — Expense  of — Temptations — 
Fosters  selfishness — Dancing — What  can  be  said  in  favor  of — Contrary  considera/- 
tion — Physical  effects — Moral  effects — A  ball  dress — Harmless  per  se — But  per 
contra  ? — A  physician's  testimony — Promiscuous  assemblies — Vulgarity — The  the- 
atre— Opinions  of  actors — Moral  and  physical  effects — Horseback-riding 105 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 

SELF-EDUCATION— The  best  time  to  work— Hindrances  in  the  way  of  obtaining 
education— Encouragement  for  those  who  cannot  go  to  school— It  is  possible  to 
educate  one's  self  at  home— Self-denial— Religion— The  place  of  the  Bible- 
Avoid  over-haste— Limits  to  self-education— Pascal—  Euclid— How  to  get  text 
books— Spare  time— Method  in  study— Careless  interruptions— Duty  of  friends 
— Ignorance  unpardonable— English  grammar— The  study  of  our  own  language 
—Varieties  in  mental  taste— Thoroughness — How  to  learn  a  foreign  language- 
Speaking  foreign  tongues — Reading  them— The  literary  method— Scott— Pres- 
cott — Macaulay — Foreign  tongues  without  a  teacher — Books  needed — Smeaton 
— Elihu  Burritt— Time  needed— How  to  study— How  to  retain  a  language — The 
Bible  a  text-book — Poetry — Securing  regularity  in  home  study — Value  of  minutes 
— Study  of  natural  sciences — Reasons  for  this  study — Kingsley's  argument  for — 
Danger  of  ignorance — What  we  need — How  to  pursue  this  study — Books,  cab- 
inets, collections — Correspondence  —  Drawing  —  Cash  value  of — Avoid  hasty 
conclusions — Religion  and  culture — Early  religious  training* — History — Litera- 
ture— What  shall  we  do  with  education — The  complainants — All  can  secure 
education — Parents  as  teachers — Evening  study 1 23 

CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOLS— The  saddler's  marriage— Going  away  to  school — The  ad- 
vantage of  going  from  home  to  school — The  age  when  it  is  proper  to  go  from 
home  for  education — What  are  the  best  years  for  study — Schools  near  home — 
How  to  use  them — Foreign  schools — Not  suitable  for  American  youths — Their 
dangers — How  and  when  to  go  to  a  foreign  school — American  schools — In  art 
and  music — Denominational  schools — Their  influence — Our  public  schools — 
Why  they  should  be  upheld — How  to  uphold  them — Exceptions — Fashions  and 
follies — Ignorance — Compulsory  education — Parental  freedom — The  State  a 
parent — Prussian  schools — A  French  view — England  and  compulsory  education 
—Commercial  schools— Schools  of  elocution— Lectures— To  live  cheaply  in  a  city 
—Normal  schools— Their  status— Advantages— Drawbacks— Classical  schools 
—Collegiate  education— General  education— Choice  of  a  school— Care  to  be 
exercised— Dangers— What  to  consider— School-books— How  to  secure— Board- 
ing one's  self ,52 

CHAPTEll'NINTH. 

EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE— How  to  pack  a  trunk— What  to  take  to  school- 
Sickness  and  health  in  school— How  to  make  camphor  cream— Dress  in  school 

— School  manners — Care  of  rooms — Moral  effect  of  our  surroundings We  reflect 

ourselves  in  our  homes— We  are  influenced  by  our  homes— A  French  author's 
opinion— Examples— Hanging  out  a  bad  sign— What  is  unmanly— Know  thy- 


CONTENTS.  1 

self — Beauty — Honesty — Order — Neatness  in  rooms — A  troublesome  room-mate 
• — How  to  meet  a  difficulty — A  model  agreement — Employment  of  time  in  school 
— Spirit  of  a  school — Societies  in  school — Uses  of — Rivalries — Emulation — 
Mixed  schools — Advantages  —  Needs — Effects — Friendships  of  school — Yheir 
value — Their  duration — How  to  choose  a  friend — Be  not  hasty — What  not  to 
choose — School  flirtations — Very  common — How  carried  on — Awkward  results 
of — How  they  arise — What  produces  them — Other  people's  views — General  ex- 
periences— Crisis  in  school  life — Disorder — How  to  escape  trouble — Religion  in 
school — Basis  of  law — Of  culture — Need  of — Bible  in  schools — How  to  educate 
an  American  citizen 163 

CHAPTER  TENTH. 

ENTERING  SOCIETY — Mentioning  names — Is  it  better  to  go  into  society  too  little,  or 
too  much  ? — Dangers  of  seclusion — Dangers  of  dissipation — The  pains  of  bashful- 
ness — Young  men's  disadvantages — The  mark  of  a  lady — The  timid  man — 
Hands  and  feet — The  young  orator — Self-consciousness — Misery  of — How  to  be 
at  ease  in  society — Why  it  is  a  duty  to  take  part  in  social  life — Limitations — 
Doing  and  overdoing — Harmonizing  social  duties — Illusions  of  childhood — 
Trials  about  a  girl's  dress — Four  rules  for  good  manners — The  force  of  habit — 
The  mania  of  isolation — Pecuniary  burdens  in  social  life — American  and  foreign 
social  life  —  Our  extravagance  —  Emulation  in  dress — Over-loading  tables — 
Church  suppers  and  socials — A  simple  style  of  supper — Three  ladies'  dresses — 
Moral  courage  in  society — Tyrants  of  society — Physical  and  moral  limits  in  so- 
cial life — Strange  company — Adventurers — Various  ways  of  entertaining  com- 
pany— Men  and  pigs — Sleighing  parties — How  to  arrange — A  skating  party — 
Providing  for  those  who  do  not  skate — The  collation — Carving — The  lady  at  St. 
Petersburg — Observation — A  literary  party — A  tableau  party — The  arrangements 
for — How  to  order  Tableaux — The  music — The  reading — The  stage — The  furni- 
ture— The  lighting — Calling-off — Order — Shadow  party — Subjects — How  to  ex- 
hibit— Singing — Curious  questions — An  English  dinner  party — The  aim  of  life — 
Refreshments  for  tableaux  parties — Snow  cream — Maple-sugar  parties — Affecta- 
tions— Censoriousness — The  Mat  de  Cocagne — Entertaining  in  small  houses — A 
lack  of  table  furniture — Daring  to  be  simple — Boat  parties — Croquet  parties — 
Garden  parties — Garden  breakfasts — Lawn  parties — Private  picnics — Riding  par- 
ties— The  real  object  of  social  life — Frankness  in  meeting  our  circumstances — 
Hospitality 182 

CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 

THE  VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION — Walking  encyclopaedias — Undervaluing 
knowledge — Odd  ideas  of  study — General  information — Value  of — Dust  holes 
and  Mrs.  Crisparkle's  cup-board — Mental  system — Reading  an  encyclopaedia— 


8  CONTENTS. 

How  to  use— Usable  information— What  makes  values— Hugh  Miller's  observa- 
tion on  schools  and  books— What  will  we  do  with  it?— Charles  Kingsley's re- 
marks on— Straw  and  Devil's  weed— William  Smith  the  geologist— How  to 
acquire  information— Observation— Encyclopaedias— Books—  Periodicals— Ways 
of  reading  the  paper— Why  read  it?— How  read  it— The  time  thus  used— 
Understand  your  day— Six  rules  for  the  use  of  periodicals— Read  several  papers 
Pursue  lines  of  thought — How  to  read — Examples — Ordinary  help — Connect- 
ing facts— The  why  of  things— How  to  skip— What  to  skip — Disconnected 
reading— The  perspective  of  events— No  news  in  the  paper— How  to  remember 

Discrimination — Value  of  local  papers — How  two  men  made  a  fortune — Hay 

and  apples — Large  papers — Church  papers — Literary  and  scientific  journals — 
The  ancient  alchemists  and  astrologers — The  tone  of  what  we  read — What  not 
to  skip — Hard  to  please — Various  views — Solomon's  information — The  object 
of  study — Old  times  and  new — Bread-getting — What  the  farmer  must  know — 
What  the  emigrant  must  know — Powers  of  memory — Example  of  the  bees — Ap- 
plication of  knowledge — Knowledge  in  circulation — Money  kept  moving — Stag- 
nant capital 2IO 

CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

ON  ACQUIRING  AND  USING  A  LIBRARY — An  age  of  books — Burton's  complaint — • 
Increase  of  books — Why  secure  a  library  ? — A  model  library — Dora's  library — 
How  to  choose  a  book — Costly  bindings — Buying  a  dictionary — Cheap  editions 
— A  poor  economy — Do  not  get  books  in  very  small  type — Increase  a  library 
slowly — Buy  the  best  books — Bindings — Paper  covers — Bound  and  unbound  books 
— Foreign  books — How  to  buy — Don't  buy  books  that  bear  but  one  reading — 
Solid  values — Very  old  books — Buying  for  use — Late  editions — Changes  in 
science — Old  geographies — Value  of  a  classical  dictionary — Disgrace  of  igno- 
rance— School-books — Books  on  language — On  history — What  to  buy — Archae- 
ology— Books  on  science — Fine  specimens  of  English — Every  library  indicates 
its  owner's  taste — Specimens  of  bad  taste — Influence  of  books — Buying  books 
cheap — Second-hand  book-stores — Spring  sales — Enemies  of  books — How  to 
take  care  of  books — How  to  handle — Dust — Damp — Book-worms — Curiosities 
of — To  pack  books — Lending  books — How  ignorant  people  handle  books — A 
student's  way  with  a  book— Books  and  umbrellas  —  Vandal  visits— How  to 
place  books  on  their  shelves — How  to  examine  a  book — Teaching  children  to 
handle  books — Meaning  of  duodecimo,  quarto,  octavo,  etc. — Meaning  of  royal, 
crown,  etc.— Binders'  marks  —  Varieties  of  type— Relative  size  of—  Different 
names  of— The  two  great  mistakes — The  covers  of  books— Fashions  in— Scrap- 
books — Port-folios — Pictures — Mounting  pictures — Books  arid  pictures  as  fur- 
niture—The using  of  a  library— How  to  talk  of  what  you  read— Examples  of 
use — Other  books  to  buy 22g 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 

ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING — A  iheme  for  spring— Difference  between 
love  and  flirting — Evidences  of  love — Signs  of  a  flirtation — Steadfastness  and 
fickleness — Flirtations  suppose  fickleness  and  selfishness — Flirting  dangerous — 
Why  flirting  prevents  marriages — The  nature  of  flirting — The  reign  of  sham — 
Boys  and  girls  playing  at  love-making — Dangers  of  to  girls — To  boys — Flirts 
seldom  marry — Why  not? — Addison's  view  of  levity — Ik  Marvel  on  flirts — Dif- 
ference between  a  flirt  and  a  coquette — Scott,  in  "  St.  Ronan's  Well  " — Premature 
using  up  of  emotion — Playing  at  love — Playing  with  powder — The  young  flirt — 
THE  OLD  FLIRT — THE  OLD  BEAU — Portraits — Large  possibilities,  small  realities — 
Friends  and  lovers — Early  adorations — View  of  love-making — Common  follies — 
Promiscuous  letter-writing — Folly  of — Improper  use  of  letters — To  open  a  cor- 
respondence— To  decline  a  correspondence — To  close  a  correspondence — Letters 
worth  writing — Understand  the  character  of  your  correspondents — Soliciting 
correspondence  from  entire  strangers — Danger  and  indelicacy  of  this  course — 
A  young  man's  view  of  it — A  sister  entering  into  this  folly — Somebody's  sister — 
Respect? — A  letter  to  a  young  girl  who  had  written  to  an  unknown  person — 
Young  ladies  will  not  reply  to  letters  from  strangers — How  young  men  are  in- 
jured— Receiving  and  giving  presents — Presents  and  purchase — What  one  may 
give — What  one  may  not  give — Art  in  extorting  presents — Silly  customs — Ex- 
travagance— Presents  between  engaged  people — Lavish  youths  and  selfish  hus- 
bands— Asking  attentions — Boldness — Asking  invitations — Hints — Not  ladylike 
conduct — Dashing  manners — Replying  to  personals  in  newspapers — Notions  of 
romance — Dangerous  advertisements — Story  of  a  girl  who  answered  a  personal 
—"Wanted:  a  young  governess" — Prudence  and  romance — Early  choice — 
Early  love  affairs — Age  for  marriage — Very  early  marriage — Dangers  of — A  doc- 
tor's view  of — Worse  for  women  than  for  men — A  terrible  picture  of — Long  en- 
gagements— Dangers  of — How  they  are  apt  to  eventuate — Sketch  of — Exercise 
common-sense — Lovers  outgrow  each  other — Unequal  marriages  —  Marriage 
equality — Inequality  in  age — In  education — In  position — Difference  in  religion.  .  247 

CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE — Fundamental  rules  of  etiquette — Rules 
that  never  wear  out — Some  ancient  rules — The  rule  of  hands  off — Etiquette  of 
church  and  public  assemblies — THE  HYMN-BOOK  FIEND — Addison's  little  essay 
on  manners  in  public  places — rLeaving  church — The  etiquette  of  the  table — Neat- 
ness— Eating  with  a  fork — Why?  —  Feeding  and  eating — Solomon's  hint — 
Eating  with  one  hand — Buttering  bread  at  table — How  to  eat  fruit — Finger- 
bowls — To  prepare — To  use — Avoid  haste  at  tabte — How  to  manage  the  knife 
and  fork — The  care  of  the  plate — The  position  at  table — -Natural  positions — 
What  etiquette  is — Gourmandizing — Picking  the  teeth — Never  put  your  knife 


10  CONTENTS. 

or  spoon  in  the  general  dish— To  leave  the  table— Seating  at  table— What 
to  avoid  at  table— Cup  and  spoon— Napkins— Rules  for  the  parlor— Rudeness- 
Scuffling— Familiarity— Country  and  city  manners— The  moonlight  frolic— Bad 
manners  in— Manners  at  the  seaside— Noise  at  table— Rude  postures— Cutting 
the  nails— Whistling— Humming— Etiquette  of  introductions— Forms  of— 
Age— Strangers— Staring— Incivility— Stupidity— Arrogance— Varying  forms- 
Pleasant  words—  Ugly  faces— Social  duties— Permission  to  introduce — When 
and  how  needed— Making  calls— The  time — The  frequency  of  returning 
calls— Length  of— Cards— Evening  calls — Party  calls— New  Year's  calls — 
Dress  for— Time— What  to  offer— Wine  at— To  manage  hands  and  feet— Do 
not  meddle — To  enter  a  parlor  for  a  party — How  to  leave — What  to  say — Tact 
in  speech — Home  the  best  school  of  manners — Etiquette  of  conversation — 
Use  no  slang — No  imprecations — Brevity  of  speech — Expletives — Contradiction — 
Inquisitiveness — Servility — Refusals — Small  talk — Ignorance — Indifference — A 
mental  yawn — Pride — Forms  of  address — Titles — First  names — Nicknames — 
Shaking  hands — Etiquette  of  bows — Addressing  children — Kissing — Conform  to 
reasonable  customs — Calls  in  the  country — Etiquette  of  shopping — Charity — 
The  reproof  courteous 271 

CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 

ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS— Nature  and  colors— Hues  in  flowers — 
Errors  of  taste  in  dress — A  quaint  error — A  portrait — Shockingly  bad  taste  in 
dress — A  model  dress — Five  principal  rules  for  dress — Fripperies  in  dress — 
Addison  on — The  three  unities  of  dress — How  to  buy — Taste  in  hats — How  to 
buy  a  bonnet — Common-sense  reasoning — What  dresses  are  most  useful — How 
to  vary  them — Street  dress — The  right  dress  for  the  occasion — How  to  dress  the 
hair — Spectator  on — Outrageous  styles —The  Greek  knot — Colors — What  to 
wear — What  colors  go  together — Size  in  colors — Colors  for  various  seasons — 
Plaids — Stripes — Checks — Nature'  sseason  shades — Taine  on  Saxon  taste — Acritic 
on  dress — Good  taste  in — Bad  taste  in — Dresses  of  many  lands — Spanish  dress — 
A  Genoese  dress — Full  and  narrow  draperies — Sense  in  dress — Dress  for  picnics 
— For  riding  parties — Riding  habit — Travelling  dress — Gentlemen's  dress — Their 
hats — Linen — Kerchiefs — Ties — Gloves— Boots — Colors  in  gentlemen's  dress — 
Ladies'  views  of — To  clean  clothes — Kinds  of  brushes — Putting  away  clothes — 
Folding — Buying  gentlemen's  clothes — Made  to  order — Fancy  goods — Slovens 
and  dandies — Dress  and  morals — Dress  and  manners — Boys'  dress — Manly  dress 
— Dangers  of  shabbiness — Fighting — How  to  train  boys — Jewelry — The  watch — 
Jewelry  in  the  street— Rings— Over-coats— Dusters— Hats— Business  suits- 
Dress  suits— What  to  buy— To  wear— Gunning  and  yachting  dress — Pantaloons 
— How  gentlemen  can  economize— Articles  for  toilette— Borax— Ammonia— Car- 
bolic acid— Lime-water— How  to  prepare— When  to  use— Hair  dyes  and  tonics 
—Lotions  for  skin— Powder  and  paint— Unpl easing  odors— To  remove— Com- 
plexion—Flannels— Recipes— Bad  breath— How  to  cure 297 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER    SIXTEENTH. 

AVENUES  OPENING  ON  LIFE— The  saddler's  fate—  Twins— Advantages  of  twins — A 
Pessemist — Mallhus  doctrines — How  met — What  people  succeed — Ambition — 
Right  ambition — Natural  cares  of  parents — The  lesson  of  past  generations — Six 
months  of  famine — In  enough  is  safety — God  a  wise  householder — Three  points 
— The  individual — The  object  of  pursuit — The  pursuit  of  the  object — The  ma- 
terial we  work  on — Relative  values  of  materials — Labor  improves  material — 
Labor  and  profit — Right  uses — Self-knowledge — Carlyle's  view  of — Self-exam- 
ination— Socrates  on  the  real  lie — Measures — Search  into  moral  qualities — Ac 
cepting  offices  of  trust — Agrippmus'  wish — High  possibilities — Measuring  the 
worth  of  thin'gs — Fair  standards — The  farmer  and  the  lawyer — Which  is  most 
needed — The  place  of  agriculture — The  origin  of  law — Work  worth  living  for 
— French  Job's  idea — Tennyson's  Farmer's  verdict — Needs  of  the  world — 
Wine  and  water — To-day  the  pupil  of  yesterday— Folly  of  human  pride — Atten- 
tion should  be  turned  to  manual  occupations — Captiousness  in  seeking  work 
— Agriculture — Its  varieties — Possibilities — Real  benefactors  of  an  age — The 
pioneer — Pilgrim  fathers — Points  primary  to  success — Zeal— A  colored  man's 
text — Economy — Pedigree  and  posterity  of  an  empty  purse  —  Steadfastness — 
Three  fundamental  moral  forces — To  be  cultivated  in  families  — Dangers  of 
wealth — To  young  men — To  girls — Parents  are  too  eager  for  wealth — Miss  Kill- 
mansegg — Plato  on  the  just  man's  lot — A  picture  from  the  Spectator— A  hopeful 
father 325 

CHAPTER    SEVENTEENTH. 

ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR  WOMEN — Housekeeping — Requisites  of  a  good  house- 
keeper— A  glimpse  of  her  work — Can  all  women  be  housekeepers  ? — Unpaid 
housekeeping — Unjust  treatment — Proper  monetary  relations  of  the  household — 
Housework  out  of  fashion — The  American  servant — Her  disadvantages — Her 
place  in  a  country  family — Impertinence — Disadvantages  of  clerk-girls — Sewing 
as  a  woman's  work — How  much  sewing  is  done — How  it  is  paid — Disadvan- 
tages of  seamstress  work — How  to  improve  it — Nursing — Ignorant  nurses — 
Nursing  as  a  profession — Natural  qualifications — Age — Where  to  begin  her  edu- 
cation— Acquired  knowledge — To  qualify  one's  self  as  a  first  class  nurse — Ad- 
vice to  a  lady — Duty  of  nurse— Contagious  diseases — Care  in — Airing  houses  in 
— Authority  of  nurse — Domestic  quarantine — Teaching — Demand  and  supply — 
Qualifications — Difficulties—  Preposterous  demands — Unfit  teachers — The  real 
teacher — Need  of  study — Teaching  the  Alphabet — Round  off  the  pegs — Mission- 
ary work — Requisites  for — How  to  enter  on — Value  of — A  proverb — Agriculture 
for  women — Women  as  florists — An  example — Women  as  gardeners — Results  of — 
The  earth — Gold — The  story  of  a  Scotch  cousin — A  farmer's  daughters — Helping 
fathers — Clerking — Book-keeping — Office  work — Scruples  of  parents — A  false 


52  CONTENTS. 

scheme — American  bondage — The  emancipation  of  women — The  bondage  of 
their  own  ideas— Shame  of  self-support — Ignorance  and  knowledge— The  dairy 
—Value  of  dairy- work  —  To  increase  —  Butter-making  —  Poultry-raising  —  A 
French  countess — Poultry  values — Profits — Bee-keeping — Interests  of — Returns 
of— Business  capacities  of  women— Store-keeping— Reason  of  failures— Invent- 
ing new  trades — Button  and  pattern-making — A  woman's  enterprise — Enterpris- 
ing girls — Sister's  experiment — Ministers'  girls — Restrictions — Schools  for  nurses 
— Objections  to  women's  work — Thoroughness — Fixedness  of  purpose — No 
make-shifts — How  long — The  demand — Right 344 

CHAPTER    EIGHTEENTH. 

PURSUITS  OPEN  TO  MEN  AND  WOMEN — Joint  pursuits — Why  men  and  women  inter- 
change work — Rules  with  many  exceptions — Three  opinions  of  agriculture — 
Three  rules  for  business — Why  a  handicraft — Two  strings  to  a  bow — Begin 
near  the  ground — Fair  dealing — Fools — Fruit-culture — Clerking — Dangers — 
Rewards — Needs  of  printing — Proof-reading — Fitness  for — Leisure — Thorough- 
ness— Editing — Reporting — Don't  venture  to  the  city  on  uncertainties — Literature 
^Authorship — Prices  made  in — Fair  statements — How  to  pursue — Lincoln  and 
his  studies — Relying  on  tales — The  province  of  a  tale — Twenty  years'  work  on 
books  —  Sacrifices  demanded — Art — Illustrating — Twain  —  Nast — Caricature — 
Genius — How  to  study  art — Art-life  abroad — American  schools — Creative  power 
—Study  of  music — Of  medicine — Ways — Aids — Importance  of — The  physician's 
calling — Women  as  physicians — Historic — Italian  women — Navigation — Three 
wonderful  feats — Elocution — Book-keeping — Stenography — Family  book-keep- 
ing—Home accounts— Telegraphy— How  to  learn— Requisites  for— A  queer 
message — Ten  rules  for  success  in  life 377 

CHAPTER    NINETEENTH. 

ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  OF  YOUNG  MEN— Value  of  a  collegiate  education  to  lawyers- 
How  to  become  a  lawyer— Rewards  of  law— Eloquence— Rules  for  public 
speaking— Luther's  rules— What  education  is  demanded  for  a  minister— Why 
ministers  should  be  educated— Their  needs— Course  of  study— Demands  on  a 
minister— Choice  of  professions— Little  Davids— Care  of  health— Authors  and 
critics — West  Point— How  to  get  into — What  to  take— What  is  demanded— How 
they  live  and  study  at  West  Point— Value  of  economy  to  youth— Dangers  of  full 
purses— The  Naval  Academy— Its  examinations— Pay— Discipline— Expenses- 
Physical,  moral,  literary  requirements— Naval  engineers'  school— How  to  become 
a  naval  engineer— Examinations— Kind  of  questions  asked— Expense  of  enter- 
ing— Pay— Marine  school— School  ships— To  enter  boys  in  navy— Requirements 
—Education— Pay— Treatment— Signal  service— How  to  enter— Requisites  for— 
Pay  —  Duties  —  Advantages  —  Disadvantages  —  Pilots  —  Boats— Apprenti, 


CONTENTS.  13 

Wages — Life-saving  service — To  enter — Pay — Duties — Requirements  for — Ship 
yards — First  year's  wages — Time  spent  as  apprentice — Carriage  building — Ma- 
chine shops — Hindrances  to  boys  seeking  a  handicraft — The  reason  and  reign  of 
Shoddy — What  the  State  will  be  forced  to  do — Industrial  schools — Offices — 
Changes — Dangers — Wire-pulling — Reason  of  so  much  malfeasance  in  office — 
Quadrennial  convulsions — Premiums  put  on  dishonesty — Time  needed  to  learn 
any  business — How  long  can  I  work — Force  of  brain — Brain  vigor — Old  age — 
The  works  of  old  age — Wonderful  examples 401 

CHAPTER    TWENTIETH. 

OF  NOTES,  INTRODUCTIONS,  LETTERS,  BUSINESS  NOTICES,  FORMS,  ETC. — These 
things  look  easy  when  well  done — But  cannot  be  properly  done  without  study — 
Plain  rules — A  careless  correspondent — What  is  good  penmanship — Comprehen- 
sive rules  to  obtain  it — What  is  needed  for  fair  writing — Colored  inks — Fancy 
papers — Fashions  in  script — To  avoid — An  editor's  attack  on  poor  penmen — 
On  folding,  sealing,  addressing  a  letter — What  shall  teach  us  to  compose  fairly 
^An  absurd  notice — A  curious  invitation — Elaborate  errors — A  due  bill — A 
note — Invitation  to  a  party — A  less  formal — Acceptance  of  each — Declining 
each  —  Gentleman  offers  escort — Acceptance — Declining  —  What  ladies  mu?,t 
avoid — Wedding  invitations — Letter  Writers — Use  and  no  use — Model  of  a 
foolish  letter — Slang — Set  phrases — Letters  of  condolence — Of  congratulation — 
Etiquette  of — Tennyson's  idea  of — Example  of  each — Letters  of  introduction — 
How  and  why — Rules  for — Manner  of  address — Examples  of — A  full  introduction 
— A  guarded  one — Letter  asking  favor — Recommendations — Samples  of — Rules 
of — Form  of  address — Recommendation  of  servants — Declining  to  give — Un- 
favorable replies  to  inquiries — Application  for  employment — For  a  teacher's 
place — For  a  book-keeper's  position — For  a  farm — Haste — Care — Thoroughness 
— Examples  of  remarkably  quick  work — Explanation  of — Examples  of  Scott — 
Burns — Byron— -Johnson — The  only  price  of  excellence 422 

CHAPTER    TWENTY-FIRST. 

GENERAL  RULES  OF  SOCIETIES  AND  CLUBS— What  does  club  mean  1— An  English 
club — Its  defects — Club-life — Kinds  of  English  clubs — Dangerous  clubs— Clubs 
suppressed  by  Parliament — Tom  Hood  on  clubs — Ladies'  view  of — Most  popular 
age  of  clubs — English  manners  in  public  meetings — English  ladies  in  public 
meetings — An  incident — American  ladies  in  public  meetings — Failings— Achieve- 
ments— Literary  clubs — Lyceums — A  village  lyceum  and  its  influence — How  to 
organize  a  call — Form  of  call — Another  form — Opening  a  meeting — Organizing 
a  meeting — Motions — Form  of — Appointment  and  conduct  of  committees — Dis- 
cussions according  to  parliamentary  rule — The  duty  of  a  secretary — The  motion 
to  adjourn — Preservation  of  order — Rights  and  duties  of  the  chairman — "Nam- 
ing"— A  text-book  of  parliamentary  law — The  committee  01  the  whole — Ap- 


14  CONTEXTS. 

peal  from  the  chair— A  quorum— How  to  suppress  a  motion— Form  of  cun^iiu- 
tinn  for  a  literary  society — The  preamble — The  constitution — Rules  of  debate 
— Order  of  exercises — Of  resolutions — Kinds  of — Form  of — Petitions  — Form — 
Signing— Power  of— Remonstrances— Public  opinion 44 « 

CHAPTER    TWENTY-SECOND. 

OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGE— The  Butter-buyer  on  a  divorce  suit— His  ad- 
vice to  his  son — His  opinion  of  divorce — A  very  important  theme — Sir  James 
Mackintosh  on  marriage— Calvus,  a  Roman  poet,  on  marriage— Story  on  mar- 
riage and  civil  life — The  three  great  ends  of  marriage — Lawful  and  legal — 
When  is  divorce  lawful — Three  causes  admitted  by  all  States — Adultery  and 
divorce — Intemperance  and  divorce — Cruelty — A  judge  on  a  woman's  duty — 
Danger  of  intemperance  in  married  people — Hereditary  evils — Divorce  and  sep- 
aration— Why  alimony — Why  separation  is  preferable — Injustice  to  individuals 
— The  good  of  the  whole  is  to  be  considered — We  cannot  individualize  first — 
The  need  of  maintaining  marriage  law — Condemning  the  innocent — Folly  and 
crime— '-The  judgment  upon  folly — Reckless  girls — Statistics  of  divorce — The 
contagious  nature  of  vice — Crime  as  an  epidemic — Sin — Influence  of  French 
revolution  and  of  French  infidelity  on  the  marriage  bond — Causes  for  divorce  in 
various  States — The  East  and  the  West — Their  relations — Easy  obtaining  of 
divorces — Value  of  union — Arguments  for  divorce — Influence  of  divorce  on 
crime — Increase  of  crime — Startling  facts — Dr.  Woolsey  on  ancient  Rome — Hor- 
ace— Ode  on  Roman  impurity — Why  divorce  increases — Prudery  and  purity — 
Seventh  commandment  tabooed — Jonathan  Edwards  on — Views  of  Dr.  Dwight 
— Duty  of  parents — Safeguards  for  purity — Scriptural  rule  for — Vile  literature — 
Legal  view  of — The  apprehension  of  family  status — Lack  of  a  needful  literature — 
Queen  Victoria  on  divorces — Her  attitude  to — Vindicated — Why — The  influence 
of  Mormonism — The  negro  voters — Duty  of  the  State  to  both — Two  pivotal 
words — Business — Home — Milton — Hasty  marriages — Reason  of — Secret  mar- 
riages—Their danger — Carelessness  of  mothers — Misapprehensions  of — The  dan- 
gerous age— Errors  in  training  girls— Sins  toward  children — A  false  tone  given— 
A  lawyer's  verdict— Worldliness— Over-dress— Too  early  in  society— Misappre- 
hensions— Passion  travestied — Model  loves 451 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

THINGS  Nor  TO  BE  DONE— The  prohibitory  laws  of  life— Easy  to  wreck  one's  self 
-^Swift's  tale  of  a  tub— As  to  travelling— When  it  is  well  to  travel— How  to 
travel  inexpensively — Going  abroad  as  tutors  or  governesses— What  to  avoid— 
Dangers  of— Cheap  tours— How  made— Bayard  Taylor— Norman  McLeod— 
Care  in  making  acquaintances  in  travelling— Avoid  bad  manners  in  travelling- 
Grant  and  his  new  friend— The  "  shall  nots  "  of  money— Chronic  bankruptcy- 
Losing  money— Wasting  it— Of  business— liable  in  business— Of  being  duped— 


CONTENTS.  15 

Commercial  integrity — Business  orthodoxy — Ignorance  of  business — Dishonesty 
— Duty  of  preachers — Two  practical  tests — Selecting  partners  in  business — Spec- 
ulation— What  it  is — Its  limits — Its  dangers — Its  crimes — South  Sea  Bubble — 
Enterprise  vs.  Speculation — American  proneness  to  speculation — French  thrift — 
Its  virtues — Its  dangers — Absorption  in  little  things — Misers  and  business  men — 
Why  are  we  a  nation  of  speculators  ? — Defects  in  American  education — The  culti- 
vation of  ambition — Our  national  character — School  pabulum — False  views — 
Emotional  education — Duty  vs.  Love — Lack  of  self-control — Cultivation  of  judg- 
ment— Somebody  and  nobody — Models  set — Parents'  ambitions — To  counteract 
false  ideas — The  "shalt  nots"  of  amusements — Rolicking  fun — Gambling — 
Losses  of — False  names — Idleness — Evil  habits — Carrying  arms— Rudeness — 
Temptations — Cost  of  a  young  man  or  woman — Example  in  dollars  and  cents 
— Value  of  a  character — Of  eighteen  years — Of  a  soul 465 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 

THE  WORLD'S  WEDDING-DAY — Shall  we  discuss  marriages  ? — Modern  wedding  cus- 
toms— How  governed — The  marriage  customs  of  all  ages  and  nations — A 
curious  and  interesting  theme — How  civilization  alters  wedding  customs — Mar- 
riage among  barbarians — Gradual  refinements  of  marriage  ceremonies — Marriage 
of  George  Third — Certain  objects  belonging  to  marriage — Emblems  in  marriage 
— The  ring — Did  the  Hebrews  use  the  ring? — The  ring  among  the  Romans — Its 
typology — Of  what  the  ring  was  made — Greek  church  ring — Talmudic — The 
ring  in  Ireland — Among  mediaeval  Jews — Orkneys — Ring  rejected — Enjoined — 
Italian  idea — Queer  rings — Ring  mottoes — Mary  Tudor's  ring — Mary  Stuart's 
rings — Flowers — Why  used — How  used — Maids  and  widows — Crowns  in 
Greek  church — Wedding  wreaths  in  the  North  lands — Explanation  of  a  Scripture 
text — Proposals  in  Genoa — Nuptial  girdles  of  flowers — Boeotia — Omen  of  pur- 
chased flowers — Modern  flower  offerings — Old  English  wedding  posie — The 
rosemary  and  its  associations — When  orange  flowers  came  in — Henry  Seventh's 
wedding  flower— The  white  lilac— The  veil— What  it  means — Customs — Varie- 
ties in  length — In  color — Bridegroom's  veil — The  veil  of  Rebecca — Egyptian 
veil — Chinese  veil — The  wedding  of  Victoria — A  generous  act — Truly  royal — 
Fruits  associated  with  marriage — Pomegranates — Marriage  of  Plato — The  quince 
— Betel  nut — Rice — Wheat — Tea — Perfumes — Use  of — Anointing  church  doors 
— Church-porch  bridals — Examples  of — Laws  of — Proxy  marriage — Why — How 
— Examples  of — Most  remarkable — Morganatic  marriage — What  it  is — Examples 
of — Wines — Use  at  weddings — Symbolism — Old  English  use — Knitting  cup — 
Glass — Broken  glass — Hebrew  custom — Prussian  custom — The  marriage  look- 
ing-glass — Omen  glass  in  Russian  marriage — Shoes — What  they  mean — Scriptu- 
ral usages — Boaz — Gregory  of  Tours — German  customs — Eastern  shoe  symbols 
— The  shoes  of  a  Roman  bride— Ceylon  shoes— A  text  made  clear— World-wid« 


16  CONTENTS. 

acceptance  of  shoe  symbol— Wedding  in  Peru— A  German  fashion— Liburnians 
and  shoes— Waldemar's  marriage  offer— Shoe-throwing— Why — Wedding  gifts- 
Why  made— How  made— Among  Jews— In  China— Ceylon— Java— In  Poland 
— Pay  weddings — Penny  weddings — Bidding  weddings — Customs  of — Pepys — 
Servants'  portions,— Moorish  customs— Assyrian  wedding  gifts— Swedish— A 
degenerated  custom— Money  at  bridals— Coins  in  betrothals— Sixpence— 
Ninepence— Crooked  money— Albanian  dowries— Marriage  in  Egypt— French 
laws  of  marriage  money— English  laws— Marriage  months— Superstitions 
belonging  to — Classic  views— Dangerous  months— May— January— February- 
June— Sicily— Days  for  weddings— In  Scotland— Friday  luck— What  days  the 
Romans  forbid— Jewish  days— An  old  rhyme— A  mediaeval  proverb— Sunday 
marriages — Rainy  days— Hours— Goa — England— Music  at  bridals— Use- 
References  to — Wedding  ceremonies — Variety  in — The  most  simple — The  most 
elaborate — Hindoo  forms — How  to  divide  marriage  ceremonies — Bride  capture — 
How  and  why  used — Where — Instances  of — Belongs  to  what  tribes — Classic 
facts — Curious  ceremonies  of  bride  capture — Irish.weddings — German — Elope- 
ments— Civil  ceremonies — Law  concerning — Roman  church — Marriage  in 
France — Marriage  conflict  in  Italy — Early  Christian  marriage — Hebrew,  Greek 
and  Roman  ceremonies — Other  customs — Egyptian  marriage — Mortgage  in  mar- 
riage—Forbidden marriages — Taxed  marriages — Dangers  of — Political  economy 
of — Contrary  customs — Marriage  and  health — Marriage  and  prosperity — Marriage 
and  morals — Monogamy — Polygamy — To  whom  do  children  belong?— Laws 
concerning — The  natural  consciousness — The  divine  idea 482 

CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

PRACTICAL  RELIGION — Religious  exercises  at  colleges — Rules  regarding  religious 
practices — Is  religion  an  entirely  private  concern? — Religious  interference — 
Early  Christian  training — Duty  of  parents — Common-sense  dictates  attention  to 
spiritual  concerns— The  finite  and  the  infinite— Highest  interests— Piety  as  a 
foundation  for  character — The  source  of  law — Difference  between  authority  and 
despotism — Literary  institutions  without  a  religious  basis — Ashamed  of  religious- 
ness— Is  it  freedom  or  bondage? — Where  young  men  get  atheistic  notions — In 
leading  strings— Assumptions  of  infidel  leaders— Their  arrogance— They  destroy 
manly  and  independent  thought— Blind  followers  of  blind  guides— Ignorance 
attacking— Marks  of  infidel  teachers— Their  methods— Contradictions— Differ- 
ence between  contradiction  and  logic— Sarcasm— Its  value— Bitterness— As  an 
indicator— Unfair  method— Assumptions— What  lies  at  the  root  of  all  this 
attack— Innate  ideas— An  infidel  silenced— The  argument  of  history— The 
nations  which  forgot  God— Men  who  defied  God— Early  religious  training  and 
independent  thinking— Facts— Original  thinkers— Mental  effects  of  Biblical 
studies— Suggestions  of  future  mental  development— Mysteries  of  faith— Mysteries 


CONTENTS.  11 

of  science — Concealed  laws — The  dark  made  light — Scientific  contradictions 
— Things  not  really  contradictions — The  enlightening  power  of  faith — Faith  and 
light — Piety  a  prime  concern  of  life — Vital  piety — Permeating  life — Church 
membership — Why — Plato  on  the  approach  of  death — Manliness  in  religion — 
Practical  piety — Real  knight-errantry — Piety  as  ground  work  of  morals — Epic- 
tetus'  prayer — Religious  quackery — Christian  faith — Practical  religion — What  it 
is — Its  opponents — Their  answers 510 


CONTENTS  OF  BUREAU  MISCELLANY. 

The  duty  of  parents  to  provide  amusements  for  their  young  people — Physical  and 
moral  advantages  of  recreation — Home  recreations — Reading  aloud — List  of 
books  and  articles  suitable  for  reading  aloud — Dramatic  readings — List  of  dramas 
suitable — Comedies — Comedies  for  home  acting — Comedies  of  three  and  four 
characters — Parlor  theatricals — Capping  verses — Examples  of — How  the  Cam- 
bridge and  Oxford  students  cap  classic  verses — Examples  of  Latin  capping — An- 
other classical  entertainment — Sortes  Virgilianae — Examples  of — TheVirgilian 
fates — Fates  from  Longfellow,  Tennyson,  or  Shakespeare — Charades — Words  for 
charade  acting — Pun  charades — Ten  examples  of — Acting  proverbs — Examples  of 
— Tableaux — Ten  tableaux  described — Burlesque  classic  drama — Games — La 
defiance — Shadow  buff — Porco  buff — Wand-man's  buff — Eye  buff — What  will  he 
do  with  it — Paul  Pry  and  Mrs.  Grundy — Madame  Rumor — Alphabetical  invest- 
ments— The  poetaster's  game — The  new  novelists — The  ladies'  maid — The  auc- 
tioneer— Crossed  and  not  crossed — The  mole — Fox  and  geese — Jack  straws — 
CURIOUS  QUESTIONS — Twelve  curious  questions  —  Games  of  diagrams — The 
gnome — Handkerchief  games — Parlor  magic — To  balance  a  coin — To  bottle  an 
egg — To  eat  a  candle — The  flying  stick — To  balance  an  egg — To  lift  a  bottle 
with  a  straw — The  dancing  dervishes — Three  kinds  of  dervishes — The  stubborn 
card — Water  witchery — The  whirlpool — The  magic  egg — Parlor  paradoxes — Five 
examples  of — Useful  games — The  spice  mill — The  little  cooks'  game — The 
Queen's  birthday — 

SABBATH  INTERESTS— 

Sabbath  must  be  made  agreeable  to  children — How  they  shall  neither  hate  nor 
break  Sunday — What  every  family  should  have — Story-telling — The  Noah's  ark 
— The  game  of  Scriptural  numbers — The  game  of  ten  Scripture  questions — The 
caravan  into  Egypt — Capping  texts — Twelve  caps  on  Come — Twelve  caps  on  Lo 
—Capping  hymns — Examples  of — Enigmas  of  Scripture — Examples  of — Church 


18  CONTENTS. 

biography — Church  history — Sabbath  reading — The  use  of  little  things — Liveli 
ness  at  home — Puns — Riddles  —  Conundrums  —  Thirty  good  conundrums — 
Games  of  mesmerism — The  trance  reader — The  trance  guesser — The  trance 
diviner — The  growing  medium — The  dwarfed  medium — The  mesmerized  musi- 
cians— The  mesmeric  speller — Practicalities — A  few  ordinary  business  forms — 
Seventeen  legal  and  business  rules — To  make  out  a  bill — To  receipt  a  bill — Bill 
for  rent  —  Receipt  for  a  note  —  For  money  on  contract — For  wages — For 
schooling  —  Money  orders — For  produce — Order  for  goods — Form  of  bill — 
Bill  of  goods — N.  B. — Certain  clerkships — Patent-office  positions — The  Treasury 
department — Physical  demands — Revenue  marine — Regulations  for  admission — 
Scope  of  examinations — Department  of  Interior — Applications — Signatures- 
Examinations — Special  instructions — Some  curious  manufactures — The  crab  lady 
— The  peanut  owl — The  lemon  pig — Delicious  dollies — Answers  to  curious  ques- 
tions— To  diagrams — Answers  to  paradoxes — Answers  to  conund.rums — Explana- 
tion of  games  of  mesmerism— The  language  of  flowers— A  table  of  the  relative 
values  of  various  kinds  of  foods 529 

INDEX ..  &>i 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


CHAPTER   FIRST. 

HEIRS    AND    THEIR    INHERITANCE, 

HILOSOPHY,  wandering  on  weary  wing  through  many 
ages  and  countries,  makes  her  Nineteenth  Century 
resort  in — A  Village  Store. 

Nowhere  else  are  so  many,  and  so  high  themes,  so 
boldly  discussed. 
The  assembled  sages  bravely  march  their  forces  up  to  all  re- 
doubts of  science  and  ethics,  and  seldom  march  them  down  again, 
without  leaving  a  banner  planted,  or  carrying  off  some  captured 
flag.  Beholding  them  in  high  consultation,  sitting  on  counters,  kegs 
and  barrels,  or  piled-up  firkins  and  boxes,  we  might  think  at  first 
the  mighty  fallen,  since  wisdom  here  takes  her  stand,  when  once  she 
sat  with  the  gods  on  Ida,  with  Socrates  in  the  porches  of  the 
Academy,  with  Roger  Bacon  in  his  cell,  with  Galileo  on  the  hill  of 
Arcetri.  But,  in  fact,  this  picture  represents  wisdom  in  her  best 
estate,  as  thriving  among  the  masses,  not  with  one  individual  for 
her  high-priest,  but  every  man  for  her  votary.  In  these  juntos  of 
the  country-store,  speaks  out  the  mind  of  the  people,  the  sagacity 
of  heads  of  families.  You  have  this  new  school  of  philosophy  in 
its  finest  development,  when  you  find  your  country-store  planted 
where  four  ways  meet,  near  some  thriving  village,  and  enter  there 
when  the  evening  mail  is  just  distributed. 

To  such  a  modern  Mars  Hill  came  one  autumn  evening  an  elderly 

(19) 


20  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

STRANGER;  we  will  not  awaken  prejudices  by  telling  what  states- 
men and  scholars  he  resembled,  in  brow,  eye,  lip,  gait;  but  he 
went  gravely  up  to  the  counter,  and  addressed  himself  to  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  place : 

"  Have  you  any — "  began  the  Stranger  slowly. 

The  urbane  shop-keeper  cast  his  eye  along  his  shelves  and 
drawers,  mentally  supplying — "  muslin,  pins,  buttons,  hose,  thread." 

"  Have  you,  that  is— plenty  of—"  began  the  Stranger  again. 

The  store-keeper  privately  suggested,  "flour,  soap,  bacon,  dried 
apples,"  his  glance  running  over  boxes,  kegs,  barrels. 

"  I  mean  to  ask,"  said  the  Stranger,  successfully  reconstructing— 
"  have  you  in  this  neighborhood,  plenty  of  children." 

The  merchant's  jaw  fell :  children  there  were  by  the  score,  even  in 
that  grocery  at  that  moment,  from  the  morsel  of  humanity,  whose 
nose  barely  reached  to  the  counter,  to  overgrown  thirteen,  his  ankles 
and  wrists  victorious  over  a  season-old  suit. 

The  long-legged  and  long-armed  clerk,  who  was  a  bit  of  a  wag, 
leaned  across  the  counter,  swept  a  half-dozen  of  these  specimens 
together,  and  said  briefly — "  Sample  'em  !" 

"Children!"  cried  the  saddle  and  harness  maker,  a  misanthrope, 
uneasily  seated  on  a  keg  of  nails.  "  Let  me  tell  you,  there's  not  only 
plenty,  but  too  many.  The  world's  got  more  than  it  can  bear  of 
population.  I  want, you  to  turn  a  look  on  India,  Syria,  China,  and 
Ireland,  where  thousands  die  of  starvation — where  the  earth  cannot 
maintain  the  people — where  famines  are  periodic,  and  for  which  the 
whole  civilized  world  must  be  taxed  in  a  futile  effort  to  fill  mouths 
that  should  never  have  existed." 

"  You  state  certain  facts  of  famines  and  short  harvests,  but  the 
cause  you  assign  is  the  wrong  one,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Trouble 
is,  not  that  there  are  too  many  people  in  the  earth,  but  in  these 
unfortunate  lands,  the  need  is  instant  for  righteous,  paternal  govern- 
ments, careful  to  secure  the  best  good  of  the  citizens ;  and  also  for 
education  among  the  people  themselves,  so  that  each  man  shall  be 
worth  more  individually,  knowing  how  to  gain,  save  and  spend;  to 


HEIRS  AND   THEIR  INHERITANCE.  21 

secure  himself,  and  not  to  encroach  on  his  neighbor.  In  lands  where 
the  ALPHABET  and  the  TEN  COMMANDMENTS  are  every  man's  inheri- 
tance, from  king  to  cotter,  there  are  no  famines'' 

"  I  can  tell  you  what,  friend,"  said  a  stout  butter-buyer  who  had 
come  in  for  his  mail,  "  I've  been  to  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and 
Baltimore,  and  Cincinnati,  and  Boston,  and  Chicago,  and  most  of 
our  other  big  cities,  and  I  remarked  a  leetle  more  of  hungry  and 
half-naked  women  and  children,  and  idle,  ragged  men,  and  beggarly, 
over-crowded  living  places,  than  /  like  to  see." 

"  That  is  too  true,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  but  still  you  do  not  touch 
the  cause  of  trouble.  I  claim  that  the  world  is  not,  nor  is  likely 
to  be,  over-populated.  Cities  and  even  countries  there  are  over- 
crowded. The  remedy  is,  emigration.  Immense  tracts  of  land, 
rich  in  soil,  and  in  all  mineral  and  vegetable  productions,  wait  for 
inhabitants." 

"Come,  sir,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  from  his  seat  on  the  end  of  a 
counter,  "  I  take  issue  with  you  there ;  I  do  not  say  a  word  against 
the  surplus  population  of  our  cities  being  deported  to  our  vacant 
lands.  I  wish  there  were  some  reasonable  way  of  getting  them  there, 
with  any  prospect  of  their  securing  a  shelter  for  their  heads,  and  food 
to  eat — though  how  that  is  to  be  accomplished,  where  there  are 
neither  tools,  cash  nor  common-sense,  I  cannot  tell.  But  1  should 
deprecate  having  this  land  made  the  sewer  and  drain  of  Europe  and 
Asia.  I  tell  you  now,  we  American-born  people  are  being  fairly 
swamped  at  the  polls  and  elsewhere  by  a  horde  of  foreign-born,  or 
foreign-begot,  fellow-citizens,  who  know  little  of  our  history,  prin- 
ciples or  institutions :  who  cannot  read  their  ballot.  But  if  I  should 
lift  a  cry,  'America  for  Americans,'  I  should  at  once  be  accused  of 
being  out  of  harmony  with  American  ideas,  and  our  Constitution!" 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Stranger  graciously,  "  you  open  a  variety 
of  deep  and  important  questions,  on  which  I  shall  hereafter  be  happy 
to  converse  with  you.  But  this  evening  we  cannot  try  all  issues. 
Your  reply  brings  me  back  to  the  query  with  which  I  started :  'Are 
there  many,  enough,  American-born  children  in  this  neighborhood?' 


22  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

This,  I  fancy,  might  be  taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  a  neighborhood  : 
a  fertile  farm  district ;  a  thriving  village ;  a  large  town  adjacent ;  a 
city  a  few  hours'  distant  by  rail.  Soil,  water,  climate  desirable; 
such  a  portion  of  country  might  answer  for  the  whole  continent. 
Now,  what  is  the  number  of  children  growing  up  here  to  fill  and 
multiply  the  places  of  their  parents?" 

"As  for  that,"  said  the  store-keeper,  in  an  aggrieved  tone,  "  look 
at  'em  !  The  store  is  full  every  night  at  mail  time !  Here  they  are, 
often  thirty  boys  and  girls,  all  besieging  me :  '  Is  there  a  letter  for 
me  ? '  as  if  /  had  nothing  to  do  but  write  'em  valentines  !  And  I've 
noticed,  too,  that  urchins  who  never  get  a  letter,  bawl  just  as  loud 
after  the  mail  as  men  like  the  doctor,  or  tavern-keeper,  or  minister, 
who  carry  off  about  all  that  comes  here.  Boys!  do  go  out!  The 
mail  is  all  distributed ! " 

"  It  is  coming  events  casting  their  shadows  before,"  said  the  long 
clerk,  as  the  noisy  juniors  trooped  off.  "  Don't  be  so  cross,  uncle. 
Hope  foretells  to  these  little  rascals  that  they  are  some  time  to  have 
letters.  They  are  our  future  lawyers,  doctors,  parsons,  merchants, 
politicians." 

"  Young  man,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  it  would  do  me  good  to  shake 
hands  with  you." 

"All  the  same,"  said  the  merchant,  while  this  little  ceremony  was 
being  performed,  "the  boys  drive  me  wild,  and  prevent  my  join- 
ing in  reasonable  talk.  You,  sir,  have  suggested  a  discussion  of 
such  themes  as  Compulsory  Education,  a  Limited  Franchise,  Emi- 
gration, a  Provision  for  the  Masses.  If  ever  I  were  free  of  these  boys 
for  five  minutes,  I  should  like  to  talk  over  these  matters,  for— I  have 
my  opinions." 

"And  very  good  opinions,  too,"  said  the  mournful  man  of  saddles 
and  harness.  "  Ought  to  be :  he  cultivates  his  mind :  he  has  the  first 
reading  of  all  the  papers  that  come  to  the  office." 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  the  joke,  though  it  was  an  old  one, 
and  one  against  which  the  merchant-postmaster  had  often  protested, 
vigorously  affirming  that  he  only  read  papers  that  were  not  in  wrap- 
pers, and  were  left  lying  uncalled  for. 


HEIRS  AND   THEIR  INHERITANCE.  23 

But  the  laugh  had  scarcely  calmed,  when  a  voice  said :  "And 
lately  his  mind  improves  faster,  as  he  has  the  reading  of  all  the 
postal-cards." 

Amid  the  chorus  of  guffaws,  it  was  perceived  that  this  speaker 
was  Deacon  Jones'  son  Samuel,  who,  after  peacefully  abiding  for 
eighteen  years  under  the  shadows  of  the  parental  judgment,  and  the 
parental  wit,  had  surprisingly  asserted  himself,  and  ventured  a  remark 
and  a  joke  of  his  own.  No  one  was  more  astounded  than  the 
deacon.  He  turned  and  looked  upon  his  offspring.  What !  Had 
Samuel  grown  up  unawares  ?  Was  he  a  man  among  men  ?  The 
confounded  sire  realized  all  at  once  that  the  "  little  boy"  wore  a  tail- 
coat, and  stood  as  many  feet  and  inches  as  he  himself.  The  de'acon 
sat  on  a  soap-box,  and  contemplated  the  blushing  Samuel ;  a  solemn 
vista  of  circumstances  opened  in  long  perspective  behind  Samuel. 
Samuel  had  grown  up ;  he  had  made  his  own  independent  remark. 
Samuel  would  soon  want  his  own  horse  and  buggy,  his  individual 
pocket-book  ;  then  Samuel  would  demand  his  own  farm,  and  his  own 
house  built  thereon ;  and  then  his  wife,  of  his  own  choosing,  and 
then  the  train  of  little  Samuels  and  Sallies — and  the  deacon  took  a 
long  breath,  and  his  eyes  grew  dim ;  and  then  he  remembered  that 
Samuel  had  a  goodly  following  of  brothers,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
sisters  among  them,  and  all  these  would  want  what  Samuel  wanted, 
and  would  grow  up  and  assert  themselves  as  Samuel  had.  Moved 
by  these  considerations,  he  said :  "  Stranger,  it  is  my  opinion,  regard- 
ing children,  that  we've  all  got  about  as  many  as  we  can  provide 
for." 

"Why  again,"  said  the  Stranger,  "you  seem,  sir,  like  your  neigh- 
bors ;  you  state  facts  briskly  enough,  but  you  do  not  reason  justly 
upon  them.  Difficulty,  my  good  sir,  is  not  the  number  of  the  chil- 
dren, but  the  style  of  training  them ;  not  how  we  shall  provide  for 
them,  but  the  making  them  amply  able  to  provide  for  themselves. 
The  schoolmaster,  with  much  eloquence,  discourses  of  the  dangers 
of  foreign  emigration ;  and  says  that  we  are  swamped  at  the  polls  by 
an  inharmonious  element  in  our  commonwealth.  These  two  dangers 


24  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

have  the  same  remedy  awaiting  them.  An  army  of  American  youth, 
well  trained  at  home  and  at  school,  will  stand  in  supreme  majesty  at 
'  Empire's  primal  spring  ' — the  ballot-box— and  will  leaven  and  con- 
trol, and  mould  to  highest  use,  the  countless  immigrant  masses ;  so 
that  the  first  generation  after  our  foreign-born  citizens  shall  be 
Americanized  and  assimilated,  our  new  States  shall  not  be  foreign 
anarchies  in  embryo,  but  each  one  an  integral  part  of  the  national 
whole.  There  is  nothing,  my  good  friends,  I  assure  you,  so  impor- 
tant, and  so  intensely  interesting  to  us,  as  individuals,  heads  of  families, 
or  communities,  as  the  proper  training  and  developing  of  our  Young 
People." 

"  We  generally,"  said  the  saddle-maker  tartly,  "  value  things  in 
proportion  to  their  scarcity,  and  I  think  if  young  people  were  a  little 
scarcer  than  now,  we  should  be  likely  to  set  more  by  them." 

"  It  all  depends  on  the  training,"  said  the  Stranger :  "  if  they 
are  well  trained,  there  can  never  be  too  many  of  them.  I  grant 
you,  there  are  even  now  too  many  bread-eaters,  if  they  are  not  to  be 
brought  up  to  be  bread-winners" 

"  They  cannot  bring  themselves  up,"  said  the  storekeeper,  "  so  the 
first  thing  to  be  considered  is,  to  get  the  parents,  guardians  arid 
teachers  set  right." 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Now  I  advance  to  you  a  propo- 
sition— that  is :  That  there  cannot  be  too  many  Young  People  in  this 
Country ;  and  I  would  like  to  discuss  with  you,  how  these  Young 
People  can  be  made  most  excellent  in  themselves,  and  most  helpful 
and  beneficial  to  the  entire  commonwealth." 

"As  I  look  at  it,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  "  the  first  question  to  be 
considered  is,  What  Parents  owe  to  their  Children  in  a  proper 
training." 

The  store-door  opened  and  the  doctor,  the  minister,  and  the  hotel- 
keeper  came  in.  The  lads  who  had  gone  to  their  homes  to  report 
on  the  mail  had  asserted  that  "  a  strange  man  was  doing  some  tall 
talking  at  the  Corner  Store,"  and  intent,  like  the  ancient  Athenians, 
on  the  new,  the  Village  Worthies  had  hastened  to  hear  what  themes 
the  Stranger  was  discussing. 


HEIRS  AND    THEIR  INHERITANCE.  25 

"  I've  heard,"  said  the  hotel-keeper,  "  a  great  deal  about  the  duties 
of  children  to  their  parents,  but  not  much,  as  I  know  of,  about  the 
duties  of  parents  to  their  children,  nor  about  children's  rights." 

"The  child,"  said  the  lawyer,  looking  around  for  a  chair,  "is  an 
individual,  and  has  rights.  It  is  not  responsible  for  its  being  in  the 
world,  and  a  great  deal  certainly  rests  upon  those  who  brought  it 
here." 

"  O,  I  don't  object  to  the  theme,"  said  the  landlord;  "very  likely 
it  will  be  a  good  plan  to  put  the  shoe  on  the  other  foot  for  a 
while." 

"I'm  not  much  on  theory,"  said  the  butter-buyer,  "but  moving 
around  the  country,  I've  seen  a  deal  of  practice ;  and  I've  found  a 
great  many  parents  who  only  feel  that  they  owe  their  children  food 
and  clothes,  and  let  them  alone  to  bring  themselves  up.  In  plenty 
of  homes,  instead  of  a  lawful  head,  there  are  just  as  many  rulers  as 
there  are  children,  and  the  youngsters  boss  the  whole  concern." 

"And  that  really  arises  from  selfishness  and  indolence  on  the 
parents'  part,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  They  prefer  to  get  along  as  easily 
as  they  can  in  the  present,  and  do  not  realize  that  they  are  in  charge 
of  embryo  men  and  women,  of  citizens,  of  future  parents.  We  culti- 
vate an  apple  tree  with  a  view  to  what  it  will  be ;  a  horse  or  ox  for 
its  evident  future  uses,  but  regard  a  child,  too  often,  as  a  being  solely 
of  the  present." 

"  But  see  here,"  said  the  saddler :  "  the  tree  won't  fly  in  your  face; 
the  ox  will  love  its  master ;  they  do  as  well  as  you  expect.  But  the 
child  does  not  give  its  parent  measure  for  measure,  and  it  grows  up 
and  forms  new  ties." 

The  deacon  looked  at  Samuel  and  sighed. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  let  us  remember  that  it  is 
Nature's  law  that  love  grows  not  up  but  down.  As  Addison  says 
in  the  Spectator,  '  Natural  love,  even  in  reasonable  creatures,  does  not 
rise  in  any  proportion  as  it  spreads  itself  downward :  for  in  all  family 
affection  we  find  protection  granted,  and  favors  bestowed,  are  greater 
motives  to  love  and  tenderness  than  safety,  benefits,  or  life  received.' " 


26  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  What  is  this  natural  affection  in  all  living  things?  "  said  the  store- 
keeper. 

"  It  is  a  direct  impression  from  the  First  Cause,  and  Divine  energy 
acting  in  the  creature,"  said  the  minister :  "  therefore  its  course  is 
rather  down  than  up,  as  He  loves  us  earlier  and  more  than  we  love 
Him.  And  we  should  learn  from  this  view  also,  that  the  office  of 
love  is  to  improve  its  object,  and  secure  its  highest  and  most  lasting 
good.  This  should  be  the  object  of  the  parent  in  training  the 
child." 

"  I  think,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  if  parents  would  begin  by  real- 
izing that  the  balance  of  love  is,  and  must  be,  on  their  own  side, 
and  that  selfishness  is  the  sin  of  youth,  ever  more  or  less  exhibited, 
that  they  would  fulfil  their  parental  work,  always  with  less  amaze- 
ment and  discouragement.  Also,  they  would  direct  their  primary 
efforts  to  reducing,  or  eradicating,  this  sin  of  selfishness,  and  that 
they  would  impress  on  the  young  that  Nature's  law  here  is  one  of 
reprisals — the  repayment  is  in  kind.  Not  without  reason  did  Louis 
the  Eleventh  of  France  barricade  himself  in  the  Castle  of  Plessis,  in 
fear  of  his  own  son,  when  he  remembered  that  he  himself  had  been 
an  insurgent,  arrayed  in  arms  against  his  own  father.  The  rebellious 
child  invariably  becomes  the  miserable  parent." 

"  You  seem,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  "  to  arrive  at  this — as  soon  as 
people  are  parents,  they  are  responsible  not  merely  for  making  the 
child  a  comfortable  animal,  but  for  training  it  toward  maturity 
and  citizenship.  To  be,  in  fact,  the  best  that  it  can,  as  an 
individual  and  a  citizen.  Now  what  is  the  foundation  of  that  edu- 
cation ?  " 

"  The  Alphabet  and  the  Ten  Commandments,"  said  the  Stranger 
promptly.  "  The  Moral  law  is  the  basis  of  all  law ;  if  you  can  train 
a  child  to  regard  this  law,  he  will  be  an  orderly  citizen,  a  good 
neighbor;  if  you  give  him  the  key  to  all  intelligence,  in  the  Alphabet, 
he  will  know  how  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  secure  a  living, 
and  be  an  important  factor  in  National  prosperity." 

"  It  looks  simple  and  easy,"  said  the  butter-buyer,  "but  there  must 


HEIRS  AND  THEIR  INHERITANCE.  27 

be  something  hard  in  it,  after  all  or,  why  do  so  many  fail  to  bring 
up  children  for  any  satisfaction  to  themselves  and  others  ?  " 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  for  I  have  been  thinking  on 
this  theme.  The  reasons  of  failure  are,  First :  that  we  undervalue 
the  children  themselves.  Second  :  that  we  rob  them  of  their  rights. 
Third :  that  we  fail  to  set  a  suitable  example." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  minister,  "  you  are  right  in  your  first  point.  We 
do  undervalue  the  young  people,  the  little  people,  not  only  as  regards 
what  they  will  be  in  the  future,  but  as  regards  what  they  are  in  the 
present.  It  is  an  old  story  that  of  Arnold's  unhatting  to  his  pupils, 
for  the  sake  of  what  they  might  be.  The  long  line  of  statesmen  and 
heroes,  saints  and  scholars,  have  bellowed  lustily  in  somebody's 
cradle,  torn  their  pinafores,  been  pleased  with  a  rattle,  and  failed  to 
get  their  lessons.  But  we  undervalue  the  Young  most  as  regards 
their  present  usefulness  and  capacity,  and  so  do  not  encourage  them 
to  exertion.  We  conclude  that  '  they  cannot  do  anything/  or,  '  their 
help  is  worth  so  little.'  I  have  just  read  a  letter  from  a  friend  who 
has  failed,  and  is  struggling  to  recover  himself.  He  says:  'The 
children  are  nobly  helping  us  to  pay  for  the  new  farm.  I  don't  know 
what  we  should  do  without  children  to  help  us.'  And  here  is  a 
little  fact  that  lately  came  to  my  knowledge.  Five  children  in  Col- 
orado wanted  to  buy  an  organ.  The  youngsters  were  from  six  to 
fifteen  years  old.  They  had  earned,  by  the  care  of  the  fowls  on  the 
farm,  three  dozen  chickens.  Their  father  let  them  have  one  acre  of 
ground,  and  they  were  to  work  it  in  their  spare  time.  They  raised 
three  tons  of  onions,  and  sold  them  for  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
dollars  :  the  fowls  brought  them  fifty-five  dollars.  Their  organ  cost 
them  one  hundred  and  eighteen  dollars.  Now  that  shows  the 
present  value  of  well-directed,  and  properly  encouraged,  children's 
work.  Give  them  a  motive,  give  them  example :  show  them  how : 
make  it  cheerful  for  them  to  work,  and  they  will  not  only  be  impor- 
tant elements  in  the  family,  in  the  way  of  helpfulness,  but  they  will 
have  learned  how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  industry  will  have 
secured  good  morals." 


28  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  But  I  don't  understand  the  Squire's  second  point,"  said  the  land- 
lord. "  How  do  we  rob  our  children?" 

"A  very  common  robbery  is  to  deprive  them  of  their  share  of  family 
interest.  We  shut  them  out  of  the  knowledge  of  family  concerns.  A 
man  loses  a  sum. of  money— perhaps,  like  an  idiot,  he  keeps  the  loss 
entirely  to  himself— he  loses  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  his  best  friends : 
his  family.  He  is  as  badly  off  as  an  old  bachelor  !  But  suppose  he  tells 
his  wife?  If  he  does,  he  carefully  sends  his  children  out  of  hearing. 
He  thus  robs  them  of  a  part  of  the  providential  training  that  God  meant 
for  the  whole  household.  He  robs  them  of  a  lesson  in  prudence  ;  he 
robs  them  of  the  profit,  that  as  business  men  hereafter,  they  may 
gain  from  his  known  experience ;  he  robs  them  of  the  enlarging  of 
their  hearts  by  sympathy,  of  a  shaking  out  of  selfishness,  of  a  broad- 
ening of  their  ideas,  beyond  tops  and  dolls,  into  the  world  of  mature 
work.  People  often  rob  their  children  by  sending  them  out  of  the 
way  when  danger  or  sickness  arise :  they  say  they  hate  to  have  the 
child  worried ;  but  perhaps  the  Lord  meant  them  to  have  this  very 
worry,  to  save  them  from  some  greater  evil  by-and-by.  The  child 
removed  from  what  the  parents  think  might  be  a  gloomy  atmos- 
phere, is  robbed  of  a  chance  to  get  presence  of  mind,  helpfulness, 
thoughtfulness,  self-sacrifice.  A  sister  of  my  wife  is  a  very  delicate 
person :  she  needs  rest ;  she  should  be  waited  on ;  saved  from  all 
care.  But  she  is  so  afraid  to  burden  her  children  with  a  sickly 
mother,  that  she  has  never  frankly  told  them  how  feeble  she  is ;  she 
waits  on  them  as  only  a  robust  mother  should ;  she  rises  early  to 
call  them  up  and  help  them  dress ;  she  never  asks  them  to  be  careful 
of  soiling  or  tearing  their  clothes,  because  the  work  of  renovation  is 
too  heavy  for  her.  She  thus  daily  robs  her  children  of  an  inspira- 
tion in  cultivating  self-help,  carefulness,  independence :  virtues  that 
Providence  meant  for  them." 

"  But,"  said  the  gloomy  worker  in  leather, "  these  sickly  mothers  are 
a  great  disadvantage  to  children." 

"Not  by  any  means,"  spoke  up  the  Stranger,  briskly ;  "some  of  our 
strongest  characters,  our  most  useful  people,  have  been  developed 


HEIRS  AND    THEIR  INHERITANCE.  29 

in  homes,  where  the  mother  often  felt  painfully  that  she  had  been 
laid  aside  from  all  usefulness.  Bees  gather  honey  from  what  we  call 
weeds  as  well  as  garden  flowers,  and  children  often  get  excellent 
training  from  what  we  consider  the  very  disadvantages  of  their  sur- 
roundings, if  only,  we  will  not  be  wiser  than  heaven,  and  set  our- 
selves to  thwart  the  designs  of  Providence,  for  them." 

"  I  understand  the  Squire's  last  point,"  said  the  butter-buyer,  "  as 
to  example — you  know  what  Josh  Billings  said — 'If  you  wish  to 
train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  just  skirmish  ahead  on  that 
line  yourself.'  It  is  true  that  children  do  sometimes  learn  by  seeing 
the  opposites  of  what  they  ought  to  be.  I've  known  a  boy  get  a 
decent  disgust  of  tobacco  because  his  father  was  everlastingly  puffing 
or  chewing.  I've  known  a  drunkard's  boy  to  hate  whiskey  worse 
than  other  poison,  since  he  laid  to  it  all  his  hard  knocks,  rags,  and 
short  commons.  But  that  isn't  natural ;  children  generally  follow 
parents'  ways :  the  track  lies  marked  out  for  them,  and  they  sort  of 
drop  into  it.  I  tell  you,  I  would  not  like  to  make  such  a  mark  on 
my  child's  mind  as  that  he  avoided  things  just  for  seeing  how  hateful 
they  made  me.  I'd  rather  be  something  more  to  my  boys  than  a 
danger  signal ;  and,  I  say,  neighbors,  it's  a  solemn  thing  for  a  man  to 
hear  little  feet  pattering  after  him  wherever  he  goes,  and  it  ought  to 
make  him  careful  what  way  he  takes." 

"The  period  of  nonage,"  said  the  lawyer,  "lasts  for  twenty-one 
years.  The  term  of  life  assigned  man  is  seventy  years.  He  is  thus 
nominally  under  the  parental  care,  for  less  than  one-third  of  his  ex- 
istence. Evidently  the  aim  of  the  parents  while  the  child  is  with 
them,  should  be  to  fit  him  for  that  more  than  doubly  long  period, 
when  he  is  to  act  independently.  But  at  a  much  earlier  age  than 
twenty-one,  many  young  people  begin  their  self-support  or  seek  new 
homes.  This  should  be  an  added  motive  for  giving  them  sound  prin- 
ciples, a  habit  of  independent  thinking,  and  a  clearness  of  reasoning 
while  they  are  yet  young.  One  especial  fault  I  find  with  parents  is, 
that  they  undertake  to  do  their  children's  thinking  instead  of  estab- 
lishing them  in  fundamental  principles,  and  letting  them  think  for 
themselves." 


30  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  quite  catch  your  meaning,"  said  the  hotel- 
keeper. 

"For  instance,  let  us  take  matters  of  health,"  said  the  doctor. 
"  There  is  a  running  fire  of  orders :  '  Go  to  bed  ; '  '  get  up ; '  '  don't  eat 
fast;'  'bathe;'  'put  on  your  flannels;'  'never  sit  in  a  draught;'  'wear 
your  overshoes.'  The  parent  makes  himself  forever  responsible  for 
dictating  certain  acts  needful  to  maintaining  health;  and  if  the  guar- 
dianship of  the  parent  is  removed,  the  young  person  is  really  ignorant 
of  the  '-what'  and  the  'why'  of  hygienic  matters.  The  child  is  a  rea- 
sonable being,  possessed  of  memory  and  logical  faculties.  The 
parent  should  begin  by  educating  it  to  think :  it  should  be  given  ex- 
planations on  the  care  of  its  physical  self;  '  why '  the  draught  is 
harmful ;  '  why '  rest  is  needed ;  '  why '  the  wet  feet  may  be  dan- 
gerous; 'why'  the  dress  is  to  suit  the  season.  It  is  just  as  easy  to 
give  the  reason  and  form  the  judgment,  as  to  keep  up  this  constant 
issue  of  commands.  One  of  my  friends  had  a  son  married  quite 
early  in  life.  She  brought  the  young  couple  home  to  live,  and  gave 
as  a  reason,  that  '  neither  of  them  knew  enough  to  change  their 
shoes  when  they  were  wet.'  Young  folks  are  trained  to  this  thought- 
lessness." 

"And  here,"  remarked  the  Stranger,  "  is  another  side  to  that  same 
question.  The  parent,  a  single  individual,  undertaking  to  do  the 
thinking  and  give  the  orders  for  half  a  dozen,  or  half  a  score,  falls 
into  a  habit  of  fussiness.  Now  fussiness  is  one  of  the  most  uncom- 
fortable elements  that  can  be  introduced  into  a  home.  Where  fussi- 
ness reigns  there  is  no  rest.  A  fussy  mother  has  fussy  daughters 
and  reckless  sons.  The  little  girls  learn,  by  example,  that  the  way 
to  get  along  is  never  to  let  anybody  alone  to  think  for  themselves,  or 
to  indicate  a  wish.  The  moment  their  eye  falls  upon  any  one  they 
open  a  battery  of  suggestions.  Whatever  a  poor  victim  undertakes 
to  do,  had  better  not  be  done  at  all,  or  should  be  done  in  some  other 
way.  If  you  stand  up  to  stilly,  you  should  sit ;  if  you  sit,  you 
ought  to  lie  down ;  if  you  lie  down,  you  are  destroying  your  eyes  : 
at  the  same  time  you  are  doing  too  much  or  too  little,  or  the  wrong 


HEIRS  AND    THEIR  INHERITANCE.  31 

kind  of  work ;  and  the  light  you  are  in  is  the  worst  light  possible. 
This  constant  nagging,  well  intended,  but  senseless,  drives  boys  dis- 
tracted. They  are  goaded  into  obstinacy,  or  fly  from  the  house ;  the 
very  net-work  of  Liliputian  cords  which  is  stretched  over  their  free- 
will, makes  them  frantic  to  struggle  and  resist,  and  disregard  all-, 
even  the  most  suitable  suggestions.  Far  better,  once  in  a  while,  let 
the  youth  do  a  thing  in  a  wrong  way,  where  the  wrong  is  not  vital, 
and  when  they  see  that  there  must  be  a  better  method,  suggest  that 
method  quietly  and  conclusively." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  minister,  "  and  by  this  constant  taking  of  the  re- 
sponsibility of  thinking ;  this  fussiness  that  precludes  independence, 
<ve  get  intellectual  cowards,  or  moral  imbeciles  in  our  young  people. 
They  are  afraid  to  take  a  step  alone,  or  to  judge  for  themselves. 
They  have  been  in  leading  strings  so  long  that  they  cannot  walk 
fearlessly.  They  have  no  independent  experiences  to  guide  them. 
Their  parents  forgot  that  they  were  bringing  up  those  who  must  in- 
evitably buy  and  sell,  marry  and  vote,  go  and  come,  choose  books, 

friends,  and  abodes  for  themselves ;  all  acts  which  fate  will  demand 

t 

of  them,  and  of  which  they  are  training  them  to  be  incapable.  There 
is  no  more  delicate  point  involved  in  the  rearing  of  a  child  than 
this:  how  much  responsibility  shall  we  throw  upon  them?  Too 
much  early  independence  will,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  make  them 
lawless ;  too  little  will  make  them  helpless.  I  know  a  father,  a  wid- 
ower, a  close  student,  who  could  not  bear  to  be  troubled  to  judge  for 
his  children,  When  they  came  to  him  for  direction,  he  turned  his 
head  from  his  books,  and  said :  '  Decide  for  yourselves :  what  are 
your  minds  made  for  ?  '  Under  this  system  one  child  made  a  mag- 
nificent moral  and  intellectual  development,  the  other — was  ruined. 
"  It  is  not  long,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  since,  in  one  of  our  cities,  a 
little  desperado,  a  perfect  marvel  of  juvenile  crime,  was  brought 
before  the  court.  Great  excitement  and  wonder'were  aroused,  because 
this  lad  had  been  supposed  to  be  very  carefully  brought  up.  His 
widowed  mother  had  feared  to  let  him  go  from  home,  had  feared  to 
let  him  have  any  companions,  lest  he  might  learn  mischief;  to  shield 


32  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

him  from  all  contamination  she  had  had  a  teacher  come  to  the  house 
Heaven  had  set  the  child  in  the  world  of  human  affairs,  and  the 
mother  was  carefully  segregating  him  from  them.  If  the  boy's  phy- 
sique had  been  weak,  he  might  have  settled  into  a  guiltless  inanity ; 
but  he  had  hot  blood,  lusty  muscles,  a  curious,  inquisitive,  eager 
brain.  What  he  needed  was  to  be  taught  self-control,  righteous 
law,  and  a  respect  for  it.  Instead,  all  knowledge  of  men  and  the 
world  was  kept  from  him.  The  inevitable  result  was,  that  through 
servants,  or  slily  obtained  flash  books  and  papers,  through  secretly 
made  acquaintances,  came  the  knowledge  of  evil,  with  all  the  sweet- 
ness of  stolen  waters  and  bread  eaten  in  secret.  In  striving  to  fashion 
a  nice  puppet,  the  poor  mother  had  forgotten  to  make  a  man.  Moral 
stamina  was  wanting :  he  became  a  demon." 

"But  come,"  said  the  saddler,  "  do  you  mean  to  turn  boys  out  on 
the  streets  to  make  them  strong  ?  To  fling  them  into  temptations,  to 
see  how  they  will  resist  them  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  Stranger,  "no;  but  by  the  very  law  is  the  knowl- 
edge of  sin.  The  fact  of  prohibition  shows  that  there  is  evil  to  be 
prohibited.  We  must  keep  them  out  of  all  the  temptation  that  we 
may,  while  training  them  as  social  beings  and  parts  of  a  social  sys- 
tem. But  we  must  face  the  fact  and  admit  it  to  them,  that  there  are 
evil  men,  evil  books,  evil  deeds,  and  that  sin  is  like  Ehud  armed  with 
a  hidden  dagger  to  plunge  into  the  vitals  of  whoso  rises  up  to  re- 
ceive and  do  sin  honor ;  that  vice  has  its  secret  scourge  and  branding- 
iron,  and  its  wages — death.  Once  there  might  be  on  earth  inno- 
cence and  ignorance ;  now,  there  must  be  knowledge  and  virtue." 

"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "do  the  best  we  can,  youth  will  meet 
plenty  of  temptation ;  our  part  will  be  to  forestall  it  with  good  prin- 
ciple; to  thoroughly  convince  of  the  advantage  of  pure  lips,  and 
clean  hands,  and  singleness  of  heart.  But  as  the  man  cannot  be  a 
hermit,  if  he  would  be  of  any  use  to  himself  or  the  world,  we  must 
not  try  to  make  a  hermit  of  the  boy.  Else  when  the  forced  seclusion 
ends,  and  the  parental  guardianship  is  providentially  snatched  away, 
we  have  an  utterly  helpless  creature,  ignorant  alike  of  danger  and 
resistance." 


HEIRS  AND  THEIR  INHERITANCE.  33 

**  I  have  a  good  many  children,"  said  the  deacon,  a  man  given  to 
long  thinking  and  slow  speaking.  "  I  have  been  training  them  as 
well  as  I  knew  how,  feeling  that  they  must  be  men  and  women  some 
day;  and  yet  I  do  look  toward  that  future  with  anxiety.  I  cannot 
make  it  seem  clear  that  these  helpless,  foolish  creatures  can  ever 
really  be  able  to  take  their  places  as  grown  people,  or  make  their 
way  in  the  world." 

"But  would  it  seem  any  pleasanter  to  you,"  asked  the  butter- 
buyer,  "if  they  could  always  stay  little  folks?" 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  the  deacon,  "  for  my  wife  and  I  must  die  some 
time,  and  I  would  rather  not  leave  eight  small  orphans  at  the  mercy 
of  the  world." 

"Your  feelings  are  not  singular,"  said  the  Stranger;  "they  are 
shared  by  as  many  as  have  children.  The  poet  voices  the  anxieties 
of  nearly  all  parents  when  he  says : 

" '  If  I  were  dead 

What  would  befall  these  children  ?     What  would  be 
Their  fate  who  now  are  looking  up  to  me 
For  help  and  furtherance  ?  ' 

And  then  his  word  of  encouragement  is  drawn  from  the  long  ex- 
perience of  the  ages : 

" '  Be  comforted,  the  world  is  very  old, 

And  generations  pass,  as  they  have  passed, 
A  troop  of  shadows  moving  with  the  sun ; 

Thousands  of  times  has  the  old  tale  been  told : 
The  world  belongs  to  those  who  come  the  last. 

They  shall  find  hope  and  strength  as  we  have  done.' 

It  does  seem  strange,  almost  impossible  to  our  fears,  but  count- 
less generations  of  sons,  taking  their  fathers'  places,  have  proved  it 
true." 

"  The  question  often  stares  at  me,"  said  the  deacon,  "  where  are 
all  our  children  to  get  their  living  ?     I  am  a  farmer.    I  have  a  hand- 
some farm ;  it  maintains  me  and  my  family ;   but  it  cannot  be  cut  up 
3 


34  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

to  maintain  my  five  sons  with  five  families,  not  to  mention  giving 
portions  to  three  daughters.  I  wonder  where  their  place  will  be— 
what  work  will  find  their  hands?" 

"  Only  make  them  honestly  worthy  of  any  place,  and  places  will 
open  for  them,"  said  the  Stranger.    "  Make  their  hands  truly  capable 
and  skilful,  and  work  will  offer  to  them  in  abundance.     The  skilled 
hand  need  not  be  idle,  if  it  is  not  shackled  by  false  pride.     The  fact 
is,  sir,  that  as  men  increase  on  the  earth,  new  industries  open :  new 
work  demands  the  new  workers.     How  many  men  are  now  busy  in 
the  multiplied  varieties  of  printing  work?     But  before  1445  printing 
was  unheard  of.     America  supports  a  population  of  over  seventy 
million  persons  of  European  descent,  furnishes  them  not  merely  a 
bare  support,  but  wealth  and  luxury :   up  to   1 500  America  was  an 
unknown  desert,  and  up  to  1620  very  little  better.    Think  how  many 
people  get  employment,  a  living,  great  fortunes,  from  steam  naviga- 
tion.    That  dates  from  1800.     Railroads  are  a  source  of  wealth  and 
occupation  to  millions  of  people;  they  began  in  1830.     Telegraphy 
is  another  recent  invention,  affording  work  to  hands  and  brains,  and 
filling  purses  in  various  ways.     But  our  grandfathers  never  heard  of 
it;  and  in  considering  how  their  grandchildren  should  be  provided 
for,  this  telegraphic  business  could  not  be  a  factor  in  their  calcula- 
tions before  1844.     1848  revealed  the  resources  of  California,  and 
there  were  homes  and  competence,  and  wealth,  too,  for  millions. 
When  I  was  a  boy,  I  was  very  much  alarmed  by  being  told  that  the 
whales  of  the  cold  seas  would  be  exhausted,  and  the  world  would  sit 
in  darkness  for  want  of  oil  and  candles ;  but  before  the  whales  failed, 
the  rocks  have  poured  us  out  rivers  of  oil.     Another  dread  of  my 
childhood  was  awakened  by  those  calculators  who  could  tell  to  a 
year  when  the  coal  of  England  would  be  exhausted,  and  the  forests 
of  America  all  cut  down,  and  fuel  be  wanting  to  the  shivering  sons 
of  men.     Nature  must  have  laughed  in  her  sleeve  at  her  croaking, 
cowardly  children,  knowing  that  the  New  World's  inexhaustible  coal 
beds  were  soon  to  be  revealed.     Supply  keeps  even  pace  with  de- 
mand ;  where  it  oversteps  it,  the  glut  is  as  dangerous  as  scarcity.     It 


HEIRS  AND   THEIR   INHERITANCE.  36 

will  be  thus  with  the  future  homes,  bread,  clothes,  bank  stock  of  our 
children.  All  these  things  wait  for  the  worthy.  All  that  we  have 
to  do  is  to  make  the  young  people  fit  to  reign,  and  they  will  reign. 
Give  them  honest  hearts  and  fairly  educated  brains,  and  they  will 
be  worth  a  place  in  the  world,  and  the  place  will  be  waiting  for 
them." 

"  But  you  throw  an  awful  amount  of  responsibility  on  us,"  said  the 
hotel-keeper ;  "  if  the  young  people  go  to  destruction,  and  the  next 
generation  lacks  heroes  and  handicraftsmen,  we  will  be  to  blame 
for  it ! " 

"Exactly,"  said  the  Stranger;  "that  is  just  what  I  wanted  to 
impress  upon  your  mind." 

"  But  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  it  ?  "  said  the  hotel-keeper, 
uneasily.  "  Something  must  be  done." 

"  Let  every  man  do  well  his  own  work,  and  all  the  work  will  be 
done.  If  in  this  village  every  parent  does  his  own  part  well,  and  the 
parson  and  the  schoolmaster  do  theirs  well,  you  will  see  a  model 
generation  rising  up  about  you.  Sweep  each  at  his  own  door-stone, 
and  the  village  will  be  clean.  For  my  part,"  added  the  Stranger,  "  I 
shall  next  week  be  found  at  the  house  called  The  Oaks,  where  I 
mean  to  open  a ' *  Bureau  of  General  Information,  for  the  Young  People 
of  the  vicinity.' " 

"And  on  what  points  do  they  most  need  information  ? "  asked 
the  store-keeper,  with  a  mercantile  eye  to  an  inventory  of  wares 
offered. 

"  They  need  to  be  informed  on  education,  physical  culture, 
manners  and  amusements — " 

"  On  books,  general  information  and  self-culture,"  interposed  the 
schoolmaster. 

"  On  trades,  professions  and  employments,"  cried  the  lawyer. 

"On  society,  dress,  courtship,  love  and  marriage,"  said  the 
doctor. 

"And  by  all  means  tell  them  what  not  to  do,"  added  the 
saddler. 


36 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


"  You  have  my  hearty  concurrence,"  remarked  the  minister.  "  It 
has  been  well  said  lately,  by  a  wise  politician,  that  '  The  education 
and  employment  of  the  young  must  form  the  most  vital  element  in 
ihe  economic  consideration  of  scientists,  as  well  as  most  heartily 
invite  the  sympathy  of  the  philanthropist.'  The  Church,  the  State, 
the  world  will  be  as  we  train  our  young  people." 


CHAPTER   SECOND. 

ON   THE   CULTIVATION    OF   COMMON-SENSE. 

ROM  that  Evening  at  the  Village  Store  there  was  a  new 
element,  as  there  was  a  new  inhabitant,  in  this  com- 
munity.    When  the  steady  fathers  went  home  that  night, 
full   of  the   subjects   which   they   had    discussed,   they 
referred  to  the  Unknown  as  "THE  STRANGER,"  and  by 
that  title  he  was  ever  after  known  to  them. 

Even  when  he  had  lived  for  years  among  them — when  he  was 
their  friend,  their  confidant,  their  benefactor,  he  was  still  The 
Stranger ;  and  yet,  the  name  was  gently  spoken,  as  if  it  meant  even 
more  than — brother. 

And  the  appellation  was  appropriate.  This  Stranger  was  either  a 
hundred  years  before  his  day,  or  some  remaining  product  of  that 
Age  of  Gold,  when  Astraea  dwelt  among  men.  He  was  living  en- 
tirely for  others,  while  all  those  around  him  were,  with  the  best 
intentions,  living  entirely  for  themselves,  or  for  their  immediate 
relations.  He  had  as  little  regard  for  fashion  as  Mr.  Standfast  had 
for  Madame  Bubble.  He  always  went  to  the  fundamental  reason 
of  things,  and  when  he  rose  into  a  lofty  theory,  he  arrived  there  by 
the  successive  steps  of  some  chain  of  practical  logic.  He  avowed 
himself  the  Apostle  of  a  better  Era,  called  THE  REIGN  OF  COMMON- 
SENSE.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  young  as  the  most  promising 
field  of  effort,  and  the  young  he  addressed  as  creatures  of  judgment; 
and  he  called  on  them  to  reason.  He  used  no  diminutives  in  speak- 
ing to  them :  Minnie,  Hattie,  and  Bettie  were  names  unknown  to 
him.  Some  people  surmised  that  he  had  had  great  sorrows  ;  deriving 

(37) 


38  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

this  from  that  tenderness  and  sympathy  of  temper  that  sorrow  is  wont 
to  produce  in  generous  souls.  As  he  especially  labored  for  the 
young,  they  fancied  he  had  buried  his  sons  and  daughters  in  their 
youth.  Of  all  this  he  said  nothing,  being  severed  from  self,  and 
however  long  he  tarried,  being  still  as  a  Stranger,  and  confessing 
by  his  life  that  he  was  a  pilgrim,  as  all  his  fathers  were. 

In  this  reserve  and  unselfishness  he  was  the  most  matter-of-fact 
of  people,  and  the  graces  that  he  best  esteemed  were  those  that  grew 
nearest  the  ground.  So  this  person  was  a  benediction  in  the  midst 
of  the  community:  a  Stranger,  and  yet  not  unknown,  whose  life- 
mystery  had  a  certain  sacredness. 

Over  his  gateway  was  written : 

A  BUREAU  OF  INFORMATION. 

Within  the  great  reception-room,  where  with  windows  open  to  the 
floor  in  summer,  and  beside  a  grand  wood-fire  in  winter,  he  dis- 
coursed to  the  young  men  and  women,  there  was  printed  on  the 
wall: 

Here  one  talks  only  Common-sense. 

Hither  then  came  the  youth  of  the  country-side,  and  now  and  then 
a  village  parent  strayed  in  to  listen  and  to  learn. 

"  What  is  most  necessary  to  our  Success  in  Life  ?  "  asked  Samuel, 
the  deacon's  son,  when  a  number  of  Young  People  were  gathered  in 
The  Bureau  of  Information. 

"Why,"  said  John  Frederick,  hesitatingly,  "the  parson  would  tell 
you  Religion,  as  that  is  the  mother  of  all  good  things,  now  and 
hereafter." 

"I  mean,  setting  that  aside,  what  is  most  needful  ?  " 

"Money,"  said  Peter;  "for  then  you  can  command  education, good 
society,  foreign  travel.  You  can  invent  things,  having  money  to 
spend  on  experiments." 

"  It  is  not  indispensable,"  said  Samuel.  "  Without  any  money, 
Bayard  Taylor  became  a  great  traveller:  Elihu  Burrit  a  scholar! 
Siephenson  an  inventor.  The  lack  of  money  is  not  a  fatal  lack." 


ON   THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON-SENSE.  39 

But  Peter  was  shrewd.  "  Sir,"  he  said  to  the  Stranger,  "  is  not 
money  the  ultimate  object  of  our  labor  ?  Would  many  men  be 
likely  to  invent,  to  write  books,  to  pursue  a  profession,  if  they  knew 
they  would  receive  no  money  for  it  ?  " 

"  They  would  not,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"Then  if  it  is  good  and  proper  as  an  object,  why  is  it  not  the  best 
thing  to  begin  with  ?" 

"  The  acquiring  of  money  should  not  be  a  main  object.  It  enters 
into  our  calculations  because  it  is  valuable,  not  in  itself,  but  for  what 
it  will  bring.  It  is  a  good  instrument  of  labor,  but  not  labor's  highest 
end.  The  fact  is,  Peter,  that  given  the  money  at  the  outset,  most  young 
people  would  become  neither  learned  nor  inventors,  nor  workers  of 
any  kind.  The  possession  of  money  would  deprive  them  of  a  sharp 
spur  to  action  ;  and  the  many  present  pleasures  and  indulgences  which 
it  would  obtain -would  distract  their  minds  from  solid  pursuits." 

"  Then  why  are  so  many  parents  toiling  to  make  their  children 
rich  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  Possibly  because  they  mistake  what  will  be  for  the  child's  highest 
good." 

"  This  may  be  the  reason,"  said  Samuel,  "  why  so  many  persons 
that  rise  to  high  fame  and  usefulness  are,  in  their  youth,  poor. 
While  the  sons  of  rich  men  are  not  so  often  heard  of,  except  as  in- 
heriting their  fathers'  fortunes." 

"Then,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  if  money  is  not  the  best  thing  we 
can  have  to  start  with,  perhaps  it  is  knowledge,  that  is  most  needful 
to  success." 

"The  mere  acquisition  of  a  mass  of  facts,"  said  the  Stranger,  "or 
the  thorough  knowledge  of  some  especial  branch  of  learning,  is  not 
necessarily  very  helpful :  knowledge  without  the  ability  to  apply  it, 
may  be  to  a  man  as  overloading  to  a  ship.  Men  who  forever  take  in 
knowledge  without  diffusing  it,  are  liable  to  softening  of  the  brain. 
It  is  not  how  much  you  know,  but  how  you  will  use  what  you  do 
know,  that  is  the  important  question.  I  remember  a  threadbare  old 
fellow  used  to  come  from  an  attic  to  the  British  Museum,  and  pore 


40  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

by  the  hour  over  Polybius,  or  Juvenal,  or  Plato.  Possibly  he  was  as 
good  a  classical  scholar  as  Arnold.  In  the  Astor  Library  I  often 
met  a  man  of  seventy,  very  shabby,  and  untidy,  and  poor,  but  who. 
with  the  highest  zest,  toiled  day  after  day  over  historical  studies.  No 
doubt  he  knew  as  much  of  history  as  Motley,  or  Macaulay,  but 
neither  the  world  nor  himself  was  any  the  better  for  it." 

"Then  the  thing  most  important  to  our  success  in  life  must  be 
health,"  said  Thomas,  the  son  of  the  doctor. 

"  Health  is  no  doubt  very  important,  but  Pope,  the  poet,  and  Bax- 
ter, the  famous  preacher,  Wilberforce,  Howard,  Watt,  Ferguson, 
King  Alfred,  Matsys.the  artist,  were  all  men  of  feeble  frame.  While 
the  great  army  of  tramps,  and  the  disgraceful  lists  of  pugilists  and 
prize-fighters,  are  all  robust  people.  Health  itself  is  not  the  element 
in  our  success,  unless  we  know  how  to  use  it  properly." 

"  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  something  in  your  mind,"  said  Catherine, 
the  lawyer's  daughter,  "but  I  cannot  quite  tell  what  it  is.  Wealth, 
education,  health,  you  say,  are  not  elements  of  oiir  success,  unless 
they  are  properly  used.  Now  the  force  that  must  lie  back  of  these, 
and  use  them  well,  is  the  great  element  of  success;  but  I  cannot 
think  what  it  is." 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  this  force  is  to  the 
other  advantages  which  you  have  mentioned,  as  iron  is  to  other  min- 
erals. Education  may  be  the  diamond,  wealth  the  gold,  health  the 
silver,  but  this  other  force  is  the  iron.  Given  gold,  silver,  and  dia- 
monds, how  would  we  do  without  that  strong  common  thing,  Iron?" 

"  Now  I  know,"  said  Catherine,  "  what  is  most  needful  to  us — is 
COMMON-SENSE." 

And  they  were  all  for  the  moment  disappointed,  for  they  had  ex- 
pected some  storied  Abana,  some  sparkling  Pharpar  stream,  and  here 
instead  was  only  pointed  out  to  them  this  rugged  and  unsung  Jordan 
torrent  pouring  through  the  soul 

"Common-sense!"  said  Peter,  slightly  sneering,  "it  is  a  very 
common  thing." 

"On  the  contrary,"  said  the  Stranger,  "it  is  in  many  cases  conspic- 
uous chiefly  by  its  absence." 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON-SENSE.  41 

" I  should  like  to  know,"  said  Samuel,  "what  good  things  Common- 
sense  brings  to  us." 

"And  what  evil  things  it  prevents  from  falling  on  us,  and  how  to 
cultivate  it,"  said  Catherine. 

"And  what  it  is,"  concluded  Peter. 

"  It  is  that  which  the  ancients  called  prudentia  or  prudence,"  said 
the  Stranger,  "  and  of  which  Juvenal  says,  in  his  Tenth  Satire,  '  No 
divinity  is  absent  if  Prudence  be  present.'  Common-sense  teaches  us 
how  not  to  waste  our  time ;  how  to  concentrate  our  activities  on  that 
which  will  be  really  useful ;  how  to  make  one  step  that  we  take  help 
the  step  that  is  to  come  after.  Common-sense  is  the  essence  of  the 
old  Saxon  proverb  that  cheers  us  on  when  we  come  to  a  stay  in  our 
lives:  'doe  the  next  thynge.'  Common-sense  observes  and  compares 
facts,  and  draws  from  them  suitable  deductions  and  rules  to  guide 
our  action.  In  regard  to  money,  for  instance,  Common-sense  shows 
that  when  money  is  pursued  for  itself,  and  is  considered  the  chief 
good  in  life,  man  becomes  a  miser,  his  heart  shrivels  within  him ;  he 
has  no  sympathy  with  his  fellows;  he  follows  under  the  banner  of 
Judas  who  sold  his  Lord,  for  he  sells  himself,  the  good  of  his  fellows, 
the  interests  of  his  soul,  for  money.  The  Gadarenes  were  not  the  only 
men  who  have  given  up  heaven  for  the  sake  of  the  safety  of  their 
swine.  The  exercise  of  Common-sense  would  also  convince  us  that 
money  craved  and  pursued,  not  to  hoard,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
selfish  pleasures  which  it  will  buy,  makes  a  man — what  is  just  as  bad 
as  a  miser,  or  worse — a  roue.  He  uses  his  money  to  feed  the  fires  of 
hell  in  his  soul.  Thus  Common-sense  would  assure  us  that  if  money 
is  only  a  good  when  it  is  well  used,  we  must  not  sacrifice  what  is 
nobler  than  money  in  an  effort  to  gain  money." 

"Applying  the  same  reasoning,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  I  can  see 
that  this  teacher,  Common-sense,  would  show  us  in  regard  to  educa- 
tion that  its  end  was  to  make  us  better  or  more  useful ;  and  if  we 
merely  kept  on  acquiring  knowledge  without  applying  it,  or  refused 
to  do  our'duty  to  our  neighbors  because  we  were  occupied  in  gaining 
a  great  stock  of  knowledge,  or  were  willing  to  sacrifice  other 


42  PRACTICAL    L1FR 

people's  happiness  and  rights  to  our  progress,  then  education  would 
be  an  injury,  not  a  help." 

"And  of  health,"  said  Thomas ;  "  we  should  see  by  the  use  of 
Common-sense  that  the  health  and  strength  of  a  man  were  meant 
for  something  better  than  just  to  exhibit  brute  power;  to  make 
people  stare  at  a  muscular  feat,  to  bully  the  weak,  or  to  serve  our- 
selves while  we  ignore  the  needs  of  others.  'I  have  often  thought 
that  a  man  should  have  a  better  ambition  than  to  try  to  make  a  prize- 
ox  of  himself.  If  human  strength  is  only  good  to  use  in  out-swim- 
ming fishes,  or  outrunning  ostriches,  leaving  a  man  forever  hopeless 
before  the  muscles  of  a  rhinoceros,  it  is  of  little  real  value." 

"  But  bring  in  Common-sense,"  suggested  the  Stranger,  "  to  guide 
in  the  development  and  use  of  health,  you  have  then  the  ideal  Her- 
cules of  the  ancients,  the  votary  of  virtue,  and  the  victorious  antago- 
nist of  all  evil  and  oppression." 

"  I  heard  some  one  say  the  other  day,  that  what  made  the  great 
difference  between  men  was  their  knowing  how  to  use  emergencies," 
said  Peter. 

"  Yes  ;  it  is  well  written  that '  Emergencies  are  the  making  of  some 
men  and  the  destruction  of  others.'  Now  it  is  Common-sense  which 
teaches  men  how  to  use  emergencies.  Common-sense  looks  at 
matters  exactly  as  they  are,  without  any  excitement  or  romancing 
over  them.  But  now  let  us  come  to  a  more  practical  view  of  Com- 
mon-sense. 

"  We  all  want  to  avoid  being  miserable.  When  we  are  miserable 
we  can  do  little  that  is  useful  for  others,  and  we  make  all  around  u: 
more  or  less  sharers  in  our  condition.  We  all  feel  miserable  some- 
times. Some  of  us  feel  so  a  good  deal  of  the  time,  and  then  we  are 
rather  undesirable  members  of  society.  Now  suppose  we  find  our- 
selves in  this  wretched  state.  All  things  have  a  cause.  What  is  the 
cause  of  our  feeling  miserable  ?  Common-sense,  being  a  faculty  that 
looks  matters  straight  in  the  eye,  tells  us  that  we  may  be  miserable 
first,  from  some  physical  difficulty ;  second,  from  untoward  circum- 
stances ;  third,  from  thinking  loo  much  about  ourselves. 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION   OF  COMMON-SENSE.  43 

"  If  we  are  miserable  from  physical  causes,  Common-sense  says 
1  Search  out  the  causes  and  apply  the  remedy.'  '  We  have  done 
those  things  which  we  ought  not  to  have  done  :  or  we  have  left  un- 
done those  things  which  we  ought  to  have  done,  and  there  is  no 
health  in  us."  We  did  not  take  exercise:  or  we  slept  in  a  close  room: 
or  we  were  lazy  :  or  we  over-worked  :  or  we  ate  something  indiges- 
tible :  or  sat  up  too  late,  and  the  result  is,  our  physique  jangled  out 
of  tune,  and  we  are  miserable.  Common-sense  to  the  rescue,  then ! 
If  our  misery  arises  from  outward  circumstances,  Common-sense 
tells  us  to  look  firmly  at  them,  and  see  where  we  can  better  them. 
What  can  we  do  to  remove  the  cause,  that  the  effect  may  cease  ? 
Not  sit  with  our  hands  in  our  lap  or  pockets,  surely.  But  if  for  any 
reason  we  cannot  make  our  troubles  less  by  what  we  can  do,  we  can 
make  them  less  by  the  temper  of  our  mind.  We  can  impress  upon 
ourselves  what  may  be  the  moral,  or  indeed  the  future  physical 
advantages,  of  these  troubles,  in  which  we  are  plunged.  We  must 
bring  sweetness  out  of  the  strong,  and  meat  out  of  the  eater  in  this 
way.  We  must  be  quick  to  learn  '  the  moral  uses  of  dark  things.' 
There  is  nothing  that  makes  a  Young  Person  more  useful,  and  more 
popular,  than  a  cheerful  habit  of  mind.  Many  young  people  get  a 
habit  of  moping :  they  fancy  it  is  interesting,  or  they  do  not  reason 
on  it  at  all :  it  is  merely  a  way  they  have — this  being  miserable, 
and  making  every  one  else  so.  No  person  has  a  right  to  convert 
themselves  into  a  domestic  malaria  of  this  kind.  Chronic  '  being 
miserable '  generally  arises  from  thinking  too  much  about  one's 
self." 

"  Now  this  is  what  I  want  to  hear  about,"  said  Peter. 

"  We  are  all  parts  of  a  social  system,"  continued  the  Stranger, 
"  and  we  have  no  right  to  be  self-centred,  travelling  in  our  own  little 
orbit,  without  any  reference  to  other  people.  Nature  has  her  revenges, 
and  when  we  contravene  her  laws  of  human  life,  by  turning  all  our 
attention  upon  ourselves,  she  revenges  herself  on  us,  by  our  being 
miserable.  If  you  think  of  yourself,  what  you  want,  what  you  like, 
vrhat  you  do,  what  people  owe  you,  how  people  wrong  you,  you  can, 


44  PRACTICAL  LIFE, 

on  the  shortest  possible  notice,  get  up  a  well-developed  state  of 
misery.  Now  call  in  Common-sense.  You  say :  '  Dr.  Common- 
sense,  I  am  miserable.'  Then  your  counsel  searches  out  the  cause. 
Is  there  any  flaw  in  your  health  ?  No.  Are  you  painfully  circum- 
stanced? No.  Go  to,  then,  you  are  thinking  about  yourself;  you 
are  your  own  idea  in  life;  you  are  selfish.  How  absurd  this  is,  that 
while  saints,  heroes  and  martyrs  are  about  you,  you  are  engrossed 
with  such  an  atom  as  yourself!  While  magnificent  examples  are 
before  you,  you  are  looking  in  the  crooked  little  glass  of  your  own 
vanity.  Get  into  some  one  else's  life,  needs,  happiness,  and  you  will 
cease  to  be  miserable." 

"  Long  live  Common-sense,"  said  John  Frederick.  "  I  think  I 
perceive  why  I  have  so  many  dark  days,  when  for  other  people  the 
suri  is  shining!  " 

"  Sidney  Smith,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  affords  us,  in  this  particular, 
a  fine  example.  Naturally  he  was  of  a  despondent  and  anxious  dis- 
position. Famous  wit  as  he  was,  the  constitutional  temper  of  his 
mind  was  serious  even  to  gloominess.  But  he  held  that  it  '  was  im- 
pious to  dare  despair.'  His  rule  was,  '  Take  short  views  :  hope  for 
the  best,  and  trust  in  God.'  His  discourse  on  this  theme  is  clear 
Common-sense.  He  says,  'Never  give  way  to  melancholy;  nothing 
encroaches  more.  I  fight  against  it  vigorously.  One  remedy  is,  to 
take  short  views  of  life.  Are  you  happy  now  ?  Are  you  likely  to 
remain  so  until  this  evening  ?  or  next  week  ?  Then  why  destroy  a 
present  happiness  by  a  distant  misery,  that  may  never  come  at  all, 
or  you  may  never  live  to  see  it?  for  every  substantial  grief  has 
twenty  shadows,  and  most  of  those  shadows  of  your  own  making.' 

"  Thus  you  see  that  Common-sense,  exercised  on  the  subject  of 
our  mental  states,  and  our  circumstances  in  life,  will  banish  most 
of  our  misery.  Now  what  men  chiefly  desire  in  life  is  happiness, 
and  Common-sense  is  a  large  factor  in  obtaining  that  result." 

"  I  never  thought  of  this  before,"  said  Peter ;  "  but  let  us  hear 
further  of  the  work  of  Common-sense." 

"  It  is  the  grand  element  to  Success  in  life,  because  it  drives  us 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON-SENSE.  45 

to  practical  work,  and  prevents  our  exhausting  our  time  and  interest 
in  day-dreaming.  There  is  many  a  house  that  is  never  solidly  built 
on  the  earth,  because  it  was  first  established  in  the  clouds.  Young 
people  are  given  to  indulging  these  fancies ;  a  little  dreaming  may 
be  harmless,  but  once  indulge  this  castle-building  instinct,  and  it  is 
apt  to  become  a  passion.  We  waste  our  energies  on  dreams  of 
what  we  will  do,  and  present  work  is  neglected.  We  despise  com- 
mon life,  toils,  and  little  gains,  because  they  look  mean  and  poor, 
beside  the  gorgeous  possessions  and  actions  which  our  imagination 
has  painted.  It  is  not  by  dreaming  of  greatness,  but  by  steadily 
pursuing  the  duty  of  the  hour,  that  one  becomes  great.  Common- 
sense  would  have  taught  the  milk-maid  to  take  her  milk  home 
carefully,  and  not  be  tossing  her  silly  pate  over  her  fancied  con- 
quests; and  Common-sense  would  have  taught  Alnaschar  not  to 
fancy  that  he  was  spurning  with  his  foot  the  caliph's  daughter, 
and  so  kick  over  and  wreck  his  whole  fortune  in  a  basket  of 
glass." 

"  Now  I  think  of  it,"  said  Samuel,  who  was  often  slow  in  pro- 
ducing his  opinions,  "I  wonder  you  did  not  say  that  perseverance 
was  the  chief  element  to  success  in  life." 

"  But  of  what  advantage  is  perseverance,"  said  Catherine,  briskly, 
"  unless  we  persevere  in  a  right  direction?  Suppose  a  man  perseveres 
toward  an  idle  or  hopeless  end  ?  If  a  young  man  sets  out  to  make 
the  squaring  of  a  circle  his  object  in  life,  he  may  perseveringly  toil 
every  day,  and  study  all  known  mathematics,  and  yet  will  not  suc- 
ceed enough  to  purchase  him  a  pair  of  boots." 

"  I  see,"  said  Samuel.  He  was  looking  into  Catherine's  eyes ;  he 
never  objected  to  being  instructed  by  Catherine. 

"Common-sense,"  said  Peter,  "will  also  help  us  to  make  money; 
it  will  teach  us  not  to  dream  of  fortunes,  but  to  work  for  them." 

"  Yes,"  responded  the  Stranger,  "  while  it  shows  us  how  money 
should  not  be  made  an  end  of  life,  it  will  also  show  us  how  to  accu- 
mulate it,  as  a  means.  Common-sense  sends  us  to  Solomon's  wis- 
dom: 'The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich/  'The  rich  man's  wealth 


46  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

is  his  strong  city,'  '  He  that  is  slothful  in  his  work,  is  brother  to  him 
that  is  a  great  waster,'  '  Open  thine  eyes,  and  thou  shalt  be  satisfied 
with  bread.'  Now  that  opening  of  the  eyes  is,  merely,  use  Common- 
sense." 

"And  I  don't  yet  know  really  how  to  define  Common-sense,"  said 
Peter. 

"You  are  in  the  case  of  many  philosophers,"  replied  the  Stranger. 
Dr.  Reid  remarks  of  it :  '  It  seems  to  me  that  Common-sense  is  an 
unambiguous  word,  and  as  well  understood  as  the  phrase,  the  county 
of  York'  Now  we  all  know  what  the  county  of  York  is,  though  we 
may  not  be  able  to  point  out  exactly  its  boundary  lines.  But,  Peter, 
tell  me,  what  is  sense  ?  " 

"Judgment,"  said  Peter,  the  shrewd. 

"  You  have  hit  it  exactly;  that  great  psychologist,  Dr.  Reid,  says : 
'  In  common  language,  sense  implies  judgment;  good  sense  is  good 
judgment;  nonsense  is  what  is  contrary  to  judgment.  Common- 
sense  is  that  degree  of  judgment  that  is  common  to  all  men.' " 

"  Then  all  possess  it  ?  "  said  John  Frederick. 

"  To  a  degree,  unless  they  are  idiots,"  said  Peter ;  "  but  some  men 
have  more,  and  some  have  less.  And  I  suppose,  from  what  we  have 
hearc}  this  evening,  that  a  man  is  likely  to  be  successful  in  proportion 
as  he  possesses  Common-sense." 

"  Sir  William  Hamilton's  definition  will  help  you  to  appreciate  the 
business  advantages  of  Common-sense,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  It  'ex- 
presses native  prudence,  natural  practical  intelligence,  mother  wit, 
tact  in  behavior,  acuteness  in  the  observation  of  character.'  Now 
consider  what  a  capable  business  man  this  definition  represents.  He 
risks  little,  he  understands  his  business,  he  is  quick  to  seize  oppor- 
tunity, courteous  to  all,  and  shrewd  in  his  choice  of  friends  and 
helpers;  and  yet,  if  we  are  to  trust  Hamilton,  this  is  Common- 
sense"  § 

"  Though  people  have  naturally  more  or  less  of  this  trait,"  re- 
marked Samuel,  "  is  it  not  something  to  be  cultivated?" 

"Certainly;    all  young  people   can  cultivate  and    increase   it  in 


Off   THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON  SENSE.  47 

themselves,  by  constantly  striving  to  exercise  it :  by  bringing  their 
judgment  to  bear  on  all  questions  of  their  life.  But,  as  in  other 
things,  the  first  training  in  this  valuable  quality  must  come  from  the 
parents,  and  every  parent  should  strive  to  develop  Common-sense  in 
his  children.  For  instance,  a  child  is  set  to  bring  in  some  wood ;  he 
tugs  at  a  big  stick,  half-buried  under  the  rest,  and,  flushed  and 
furious,  reports  that  '  It's  too  heavy — and  he  can't.'  '  Do  go  along, 
then,  you  lazy  child,'  says  one  astute  parent.  '  Mind  what  I  tell  you, 
without  any  more  noise,'  says  another.  But  a  third  parent,  wise  to 
cultivate  wisdom,  takes  the  complainant  back  to  his  work,  shows 
him  that  the  stick  is  not  too  heavy  in  itself,  but  in  the  weight  of  the 
sticks  lying  on  it;  that  good  judgment  is,  to  take  up  the  top  sticks, 
and  clear  away  the  scattered  pieces  at  the  edges  of  the  pile,  and 
carry  in  the  bottom  stick  when  one  comes  to  it.  It  is  an  humble 
lesson,  and  may  be  a  little  troublesome  to  give,  but  it  will,  perhaps, 
tell  as  an  example  in  all  life.  Again,  a  child  finds  a  school  task 
hard ;  it  cannot  be  learned ;  mastery  of  it  is  an  impossibility.  He 
may  be  forced  to  learn  it,  or  be  allowed  to  drop  it;  but  if  the  parent 
is  really  interested  in  the  child's  future,  he  will  begin  to  arouse  Com- 
mon-sense. 'I  learned  such  lessons  once;  so  did  your  teacher;  the 
boys  last  year  learned  this,  so  will  many  or  most  of  your  classmates 
now,  and  the  classes  of  next  year.  Therefore  it  is  not  impossible,  for 
it  has  been  done.  What  one  boy  has  done,  another  may  do.  You 
have  all  that  is  needed  for  learning  this  lesson — book,  time,  sight, 
memory,  education  up  to  this  point.  You  need  this  lesson,  so  that 
you  may  be  able  to  learn  that  of  to-morrow  and  of  next  week. 
They  are  all  steps  in  the  ladder  of  learning,  by  which  you  climb  to 
useful,  respected  manhood.'  Thus  Common-sense  begins  to  be  culti- 
vated in  the  child;  he  is  taught  to  apply  sober  judgment  to  all 
affairs." 

"  I  begin  to  think  that  this  large  exercise  of  this  trait  is  unusual," 
said  Peter. 

"  Voltaire  remarks  that  '  Common-sense  is  not  so  very  common,' " 
replied  the  Stranger.  "Another  Frenchman,  Jouffroy,  says  that 


48  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

4  Philosophers  are  a  class  of  men  who  have  carried  Common-sense  to 
a  high  degree.  In  their  capacity  as  men,  they  bore  within  them  the 
light  of  common-sense;  they  made  use  of  it  in  their  judgments  and 
in  their  conduct.'  And  he  adds,  that,  however  philosophical  and  wise 
they  become,  it  '  is  never  noticed  that  they  renounce  Common-sense 
in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.'  " 

"  I  remember  that  Pope,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Earl  of  Burlington, 
speaks  of  Common-sense,"  said  John  Frederick. 

'"A  certain  truth,  which  many  buy  too  dear: 
Something  there  is,  more  needful  than  expense, 
And  something  previous  even  to  tuste — 'tis  sense. 
Good  sense,  which  only  is  the  gift  of  Heaven, 
And  though  no  science,  fairly  worth  the  seven.'  " 

"  Since  common-sense  is  so  indispensable,  and  must  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  all  success  in  life,"  said  Samuel,  "  it  is  fortunate  that 
some  portion  of  it  is  bestowed  upon  us  all  at  the  beginning, -and  that 
the  means  of  cultivating  it  are  open  to  all,  whether  poor  or  rich, 
strong  or  feeble." 

"So  all  things  that  are  really  needful  to  man  are  liberally  bestowed 
by  Providence,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Thus  air,  fresh  water  and  fuel 
are  found  everywhere  ;  wheat  and  grass  accompany  the  footsteps  of 
man  across  the  world ;  and  the  two  minerals  that  are  most  useful  are 
the  two  that  are  most  abundant — iron  and  coal.  I  directed  your  at- 
tention to  the  value  of  Common-sense  this  evening,  because  a  portion 
of  it  belongs  to  every  one ;  its  cultivation  is  open  to  all  of  you ;  it 
must  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  that  you  learn,  and  of  the  progress 
that  you  make,  and,  moreover,  when  you  come  to  this  Bureau  for 
Information,  you  will  find  that  what  I  have  to  say  to  you  is  plain, 
practical  Common-sense.  Broad  theories  are  fine  things ;  we  may 
generalize  in  a  very  lofty  manner  about  what  it  is  good  and  beautiful 
to  do;  but  it  is  Common-sense  that  must  reduce  these  theories  to 
practice — that  must  show  us  what  is  right  and  sensible  for  us  to  do. 
For  instance,  one  may  theorize  on  the  advantages  of  scholarship,  of 


OAT  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COWION  SENSE.  49 

the  excellencies  of  learning,  and  the  duty  of  obtaining  a  thorough 
education,  especially  if  one  has  time,  means  and  mental  ability  for 
intellectual  pursuits." 

"And  why  not,"  spoke  up  Catherine,  "  given  all  those  things — 
why  not  reduce  such  a  just  theory  to  practice?  " 

"  By  all  means,  other  things  being  equally  favorable.  But  suppose 
in  considering  ourselves  we  find  a  feeble  constitution  that  cannot 
endure  sedentary  pursuits;  that  the  effort  to  attain  high  scholarship 
would  induce  a  confirmed  state  of  invalidism,  or  suppose  that  one 
has  defective  sight,  and  the  constant  use  of  the  eyes  would  incur 
blindness.  Common-sense  would  recognize  these  barriers  in  the  way 
of  our  desire,  and  would  see  that  it  was  needful  in  such  cases  to  cul- 
tivate the  mind,  not  by  books  and  classical  studies,  but  by  observa- 
tions and  keen  judgment  applied  to  the  pursuits  of  active  life.  Com- 
mon-sense thus  shows  us  that  we  are  not  to  be  wildly  emulating 
every  good  act  of  which  we  have  ever  heard,  but  to  strive  to  do 
those  good  deeds  that  are  most  appropriate  to  ourselves,  and  our 
circumstances  in  life.  Some  people,  in  an  honest  desire  to  be  useful 
as  missionaries,  have  gone  abroad  in  that  capacity  when  their  physical 
or  mental  constitution  was  such  as  to  make  it  evident  that  they  could 
not  endure  the  exigencies  of  this  work,  and  in  a  year  or  two  they 
must  be  brought  home  or  buried ;  thus  time  and  money  is  wasted, 
and  there  is  the  sad  consciousness  of  failure.  So  in  affairs  of  the 
heart :  some  romantic  girl,  who  has  been  brought  up  in  luxury,  ac- 
customed to  rich  dress,  to  being  waited  on,  to*  health-trips  to  seaside 
or  mountains,  and  who  is  probably  physically  delicate,  and  needs  the 
greatest  care,  will  fall  in  love  with  some  handsome  young  mechanic. 
He,  on  his  part,  forgets  that  his  whole  wages  are  not  so  much  as  his 
lady  love  is  in  the  habit  of  laying  out  on  dress ;  he  never  considers 
that  his  wife  will  needs  do  her  own  work,  and  must  carefully  economize 
and  struggle  to  make  both  ends  of  his  little  income  meet.  For  the 
lack  of  seasonably 'applying  this  sturdy  Common-sense  to  their  love 
affair,  they  make  a  hasty,  unsuitable  match,  and  are  disappointed  and 
miserable  for  life." 
4 


50  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

11  Don't  you  think,"  said  Thomas,  "  that  it  is  a  great  pity  that 
people  are  most  given -  to  romance  when  they  are  young,  and  just 
when  romance  is  most  dangerous  to  them  ?  I  think  it  would  be  a 
great  deal  better  if  this  romantic  period  came  later  in  life,  when, 
say,  we  were  middle-aged  and  settled,  and  so  should  be  likely  to  be 
less  damaged  by  it." 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  this  question,  but  John  Frederick 
recovered  himself  so  far  as  to  say  :  "  No !  There  is  no  fool  so  bad 
as  an  old  fool :  I  had  far  rather  make  a  fool  of  myself,  if  I  must,  when 
I  ant  young  and  have  time  to  retrieve  error,  than  when  I  am  old  and 
must  end  in  ruin." 

"  But  look  at  the  analogy  of  diseases,"  said  Thomas,  who  was  a 
doctor's  son,  and  was  looking  to  medicine  as  his  own  profession. 
"  People  usually  have  measles,  whooping-cough,  and  such  diseases 
when  they  are  young,  and  these  are  likely  to  be  the  least  dangerous 
to  them ;  other  illnesses  that  would  be  likely  to  be  fatal  to  children 
often  do  not  attack  children,  but  seem  to  belong  to  a  later  and  more 
vigorous  period  of  life.  Now  romance  seems  to  me  to  be  most  dan- 
gerous to  youth,  as  then  we  have  not  experiences,  nor  a  matured 
stock  of  Common-sense  to  keep  us  from  foolish  acts.  A  great  many 
young  people,  owing  to  this  romantic  turn  of  mind,  spend  their  youth 
time  hoping  to  be  something  great,  whether  or  not  they  have  in 
themselves  the  real  stuff  that  greatness  is  made  off.  They  are  en- 
tranced with  oratory,  or  carried  away  by  some  famous  preacher, 
lawyer,  or  author,  and  waste  their  time  studying  for  that  particular 
line  of  life,  when  perhaps  it  is  the  very  line  for  which  they  are  least 
fit.  Owing  to  this  romance  that  seizes  us  young  folk  like  a  fever,  we 
throw  away  our  time,  waste  our  energies  in  futile,  ill-directed  efforts, 
and  make  foolish  marriages." 

This  speech  of  Thomas  was  received  with  the  highest  applause  by 
his  companions.  When  the  laughter  ended,  the  Stranger  replied  : 

"  This,  our  misfortune  in  regard  to  romance,  seems  to  be  inevitable 
in  our  fallen  human  estate,  Thomas.  It  is  this  very  lack  of  expe- 
riences, and  of  matured  Common-sense  that  permits  us  to  be  foolishly 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF   COMMON-SENSE.  51 

romantic.  In  middle  life,  when  these  safeguards  are  well  developed, 
we  are  little  likely  to  exhibit  a  dangerous  case  of  romance.  To 
illustrate  from  your  favorite  science,  one  who  has  been  thoroughly 
vaccinated  is  not  in  much  danger  of  small-pox.  The  only  cure  that 
I  can  see  for  romantic  follies  is,  that  the  young  should  be  willing  to 
take  the  advice  of  those  who  have  gone  before  them  in  the  path  of 
life,  and  who,  seeing  from  a  higher  eminence  the  intricacies  of  the 
way,  are  competent  to  direct  them.  Parents,  guardians,  teachers, 
friends,  are  the  proper  advisers  of  the  young  who  are  in  danger  of 
being  deceived  by  their  ignorance  or  romantic  fancies.  Now  it  is 
the  great  folly  and  misfortune  of  the  young,  that  they  are  restive 
against  advice.  They  call  yielding  to  advice  '  being  in  leading 
strings.'  They  are  so  ignorant  of  what  is  to  be  known  that  they 
think  they  know  everything,  and  are  not  willing  to  be  told  what  to 
do.  I  was  lecturing  your  parents  at  the  corner  store  some  weeks 
ago  on  their  indifference  in  regard  to  advising,  governing,  educating, 
their  children.  Now  I  must  reprove  you  for  being  unwilling  to  take 
advice  or  obey  parental  commands.  Common-sense  applied  by  you 
to  your  relationship  to  your  parents,  would  teach  you  that  God  gave 
parents,  not  merely  to  rock  your  cradles  and  provide  your  clothing, 
but  to  save  you  by  restraint  from  errors,  and  by  commands  urge  you 
forward  in  right  paths.  Most  of  you  young  people  act  as  if  you 
thought  your  fathers  and  mothers  were  born  the  same  day  you  were, 
and  had  no  greater  knowledge  of  life.  And  now  right  here,  listen 
all  of  you,  for  I  intend  to  find  serious  fault  with  you.  You  are  apt 
to  undervalue  your  parents'  advice  and  experience.  You  go  to 
school,  you  boys,  and  learn  how  to  extract  a  cube  root,  and  decline 
mensa,  and  then  you  think  that  you  know  everything.  Possibly 
your  father  never  studied  Latin  grammar,  or  he  did  not  go  so  far  as 
or  forgot  his  cube  root,  therefore  (do  but  look  at  your  logic)  he  is  not 
competent  to  teach  you  how  to  plow  a  field,  or  what  is  the  proper 
rotation  of  crops,  or  what  is  dangerous  in  some  companion  that  you 
have  chosen,  or  in  some  book  or  game  with  which  you  have  fallen  in 
love.  You,  girls,  get  so  far  as  to  read  a  French  Fable,  and  you  are 


52  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

so  lifted  up  in  your  own  opinions  that  you  cannot  allow  your 
mother  to  instruct  you  how  to  care  for  your  health,  or  what  clothing 
is  suitable  to  you,  or  how  to  clean  a  room,  or  what  manners  are 
proper.  Your  mother  warns  you  not  to  laugh  loudly  on  the  streets, 
nor  to  jest  carelessly,  nor  to  allow  young  fellows  to  call  you  by  your 
first  name,  nor  to  gad,  and  gossip,  and  amuse  yourself  day  and  night, 
and  you  conclude  that  '  mother  is  old-fashioned,  and  behind  the 
times,'  and  '  does  not  know  how  people  act  these  days,'  and  you  get 
the  reputation  of  a  bold,  idle,  ignorant,  fast  young  person,  all  because 
you  would  not  take  advice  from  a  legitimate  authority." 

"  You  are  very  hard  on  us,"  said  Catherine's  Cousin  Violet,  "  but 
perhaps  not  more  than  we  deserve." 

"  It  is  because  of  this  restiveness  against  paternal  authority  that 
there  are  so  many  failures  in  life,"  said  the  Stranger.  "The  Fifth 
Commandment  does  not  go  out  of  authority  when  it  goes  out  of 
fashion.  He  who  honors  his  parents  may  expect  long  life,  and  land 
on  which  to  enjoy  it,  but  the  rebel  against  rule  is  likely  to  have 
neither.  Parents  can  better  estimate  the  needs,  abilities,  and  dangers 
of  their  children  than  the  children  can  themselves.  They  see  and 
feel  that  in  youth  preparation  must  be  made  for  maturity  and  age. 
If  youth  is  wasted,  all  life  is  likely  to  be  wasted.  But  the  young 
want  to  have  a  '  good  time,'  and  think  it  very  dreadful  to  be  re- 
quired to  study,  work,  or  economize.  A  father  knows  that  unless 
industry  and  economy  are  learned  in  youth,  middle  life  will  be  a  dis- 
appointment, and  age  will  be  burdened  with  penury.  But  the  son 
argues  that  '  he  wants  a  good  time  once  in  his  life,  and  had  better 
take  it  now,  that  so  long  as  he  has  enough  to  eat,  and  wear,  and  pay 
his  way,  he  has  a  right  to  be  jolly,  and  not  think  of  the  future." 

"  But  I  have  heard  some  parents  argue  in  just  that  way,"  said  John 
Frederick.  "  They  say  we  can  be  young  but  once ;  that  the  good 
time  is  to  be  now  or  never;  that  it  is  well  to  have  one  good  time  to 
look  back  on  if  all  the  rest  of  life  is  dark." 

"All  the  rest  of  life  will  be  very  likely  to  be  dark,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  if  in  youth  we  do  not  prepare  for  the  future.  Parents 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON-SENSE.  53 

are  right  in  trying  to  make  their  children  happy;  youth  should  be  a 
happy  time;  but  this  happiness  should  not  be  allowed  to  consist  in 
ignoring  prudence,  in  being  dissevered  from  all  responsibility,  in  being 
exempt  from  self-denial :  for  it  is  true,  that  only  in  virtue  is  found  the 
highest  happiness." 

"  But  tell  me,"  said  Samuel,  "  if  one  must  be  disappointed  and  un- 
happy at  some  period  of  one's  life,  when  is  it  best  to  be  so — in  youth 
or  age  ?  " 

"  Oh,  in  age!"  cried  Peter,  "because  age  enjoys  things  but  little  at 
the  best." 

"But  what  looks  more  deplorable,"  said  Thomas,  "than  a  beggarly, 
miserable,  dishonored  old  age?  And  what  is  more  encouraging  than 
to  see  old  age  hale,  honored,  wise,  cheerful  ?  " 

"  Youth,"  said  Catherine,  "  has  naturally  more  hopefulness,  more 
vigor  of  body,  more  elasticity  of  mind  to  cast  off,  conquer,  outlive 
evils,  than  age  can  have." 

"And  then  our  nature  is  such,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  if  joy 
succeeds  sorrow,  we  remember  no  more  the  sorrow,  for  the  good 
that  comes  after.  As  you  read  in  Virgil,  '  perhaps  it  will  delight  us 
hereafter  to  remember'  these  trials  and  adventures.  All  ships  like  to 
make  a  good  landing,  and  they  forget  the  storms  of  the  voyage  if 
they  sail  bravely  into  port;  and  Peter,  I  ask  you,  to  what  profit  never 
so  fine  a  spring,  if  the  year  lacks  a  harvest  ?  The  end  crowns  the 
work.  We  are  by  our  nature  creatures  of  the  future,  not  of  the  past. 
Our  faces  are  set  toward  the  path  we  go,  not  on  the.  back  of  our 
heads  to  watch  the  way  we  have  come.  We  glance  back  for  pleasure 

or  warning,  we  gaze  forward, 

I 

"  '  Behind  us  in  our  path  we  cast 
The  broken  potsherds  of  the  past, 
And  all  are  ground  to  dust  at  last, 
And  trodden  into  clay.'  " 

"  Then,"  said  Samuel,  "  it  is  Common-sense  for  us  to  work  for  the 
future,  to  spend  our  spring  toiling  for  the  harvest." 


54  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  and  to  work  wisely,  be  willing  to 
take  advice  from  those  who  have  gone  before  you.  Youth  nowhere 
shows  such  lack  of  Common-sense  as  in  rejecting  instruction  and 
command  from  its  seniors.  How  much  of  middle-life  poverty,  dis- 
aster, struggle,  would  be  avoided,  if  the  young  would,  at  the  dictate 
of  their  parents,  practise  industry  and  economy.  The  father  has 
learned,  by  hard  experience,  that  money  is  not  a  spontaneous  pro- 
duct of  pockets,  but  is  the  outcome  of  labor.  Industry  must  be  the 
stepping-stone  to  competence,  even  if  a  young  man  is  to  have  a  for- 
tune left  him.  For  he  who  does  not  know  how  to  make  money, 
seldom  knows  how  to  keep  money.  '  Lightly  come,  lightly  go,'  is 
an  old  proverb.  We  respect  property  most  when  we  know  how  hard 
it  is  to  gain  it." 

"I  see  clearly,"  said  Thomas,  "that  the  reason  of  so  much  ill 
success  in  life  is,  that  young  people  do  not  have  the  Common-sense 
to  consider  where  the  path  that  they  take  in  life  is  likely  to  bring 
them  out.  They  expect,  or  act  as  if  they  expected,  that  idleness  and 
wastefulness  will  bring  them  property;  that  a  scorn  of  control  will 
make  them  wise  and  honorable;  that  selfishness  will  make  them 
useful ;  arid  a  misapprehension  of  what  they  can  do,  will  make  them 
happy.  We  must  begin  to  investigate  our  own  opinions,  projects 
and  practices,  I  think,  to  see  whether  or  no  we  are  on  the  high  way 
to  success." 

"  I  wish,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  you  would  now  write  in  the 
Ledger  of  our  Bureau  of  Information,  some  of  the  conclusions  at 
which  we  have  arrived  in  discussing — Common-sense." 

The  Ledger  was  laid  on  the  table.  Peter  found  the  pen  and  the 
ink-bottle,  and  the  young  folks  began  to  write  their  conclusions, 
some  of  which  are  as  follows : 

"  We  can  attain  to  no  success  in  life  without  the  exercise  of  Com- 
mon-sense." John  Frederick. 

"  Nothing  shows  such  a  lack  of  Common-sense  as  a  disregard  for 
good  advice  and  lawful  authority."  Catherine. 

"  Common-sense  should  be  carefully  cultivated,  and  also  exercised 
in  regard  to  all  questions  of  our  life."  Thomas. 


ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COMMON-SENSE.  55 

*'  Common-sense  belongs  to  every  one  but  idiots."     Violet. 

"And  yet  is  far  from  being  generally  exercised."     Samuel. 

"The  exercise  of  Common-sense  would  secure  a  proper  object  of 
our  efforts,  and  make  perseverance  available."  Laura. 

"  It  would  teach  us  how  to  gain  regard  and  retain  competence." 
Peter. 

"  '  Blessed  is  he  that  hath  borne  the  yoke  in  his  youth.'  "     Robert. 

When  a  page  of  the  Ledger  had  been  filled,  the  Stranger  closed 
the  volume  and  looked  with  great  anxiety  at  the  young  people. 

"  When  we  increase  knowledge,  we  increase  responsibility,"  he 
said,  with  sadness.  "  You  know  to-day  more  than  you  knew  yester- 
day; therefore  to-morrow  you  are  bound  to  show  in  your  practice  an 
improvement.  If  you  do  not  da  better  for  what  you  know  better, 
you  really  do  worse.  For  in  morals  we  can  never  stand  still.  You 
cannot  to-day  be  exactly  as  good  as  you  were  yesterday;  we  must  be 
better — or  worse.  Do  you,  after  what  I  have  said,  see  more  clearly 
than  before  the  need  of  industry,  prudence,  subordination  to  au- 
thority— careful  consideration  of  all  our  ways  ?  Then,  unless  you 
put  these  things  in  practice,  you  are  worse  people  than  you  would 
have  been  if  I  had  taught  you  little,  for  now  you  will  be  rejecting 
light.  I  think,  perhaps,  I  had  better  not  have  a  Bureau  of  Informa- 
tion. It  may  be  a  damage  to  you." 

"  You  must  keep  it  open,"  said  Samuel,  who  had  put  himself  at 
Catherine's  elbow,  so  that  he  should  not  fail  to  go  home  with  her, 
"  because  next  week  we  shall  come  for  information  on  some  other 
theme." 

"  Thomas  shall  choose  it,"  said  the  Stranger,  and  he  looked  after 
them  as  they  left  his  door,  and  said,  sighing:  "  There  is  no  middle 
path  in  life ;  they  must  be  going — right,  or  wrong." 


CHAPTER    THIRD. 

PHYSICAL  CULTURE. 

>OME  thirty  young  people  were  assembled  about  the 
Stranger.     Thomas  opened  the  conversation. 

"  I  thought,  when  I  mentioned  health  as  the  main 
element  of  success,  that  you  did  not  treat  the  subject 
with  sufficient  attention.  I  have  lately  been  on  a  visit 
to  the  city,  and  I  was  struck  with  the  number  of  poorly  made  people 
that  I  saw.  A  really  fine  physique,  in  either  man  or  woman,  seemed 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  I  thought  we  must  have  degen- 
erated sadly  from  Adam  and  Eve.  There  were  so  many  crooked 
legs,  chins  thrust  forward,  shoulders  drooping,  so  often  a  shambling 
gait — and  '  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.'  Careful  physical  culture 
could  correct  these  evils." 

"And  I,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  have  just  returned  from  a  college 
commencement.  I  observed  that  more  than  half  the  students  had 
pale  faces,  hollow  chests,  stooping  posture  when  sitting.  They 
looked  as  if  they  had  very  little  physical  strength,  to  make  their  in- 
tellectual acquirements  available." 

"  I  have  seen  this  charge  against  theological  schools,"  said  Samuel, 
"that  their  course  of  study,  manner  of  life,  the  general  ideas  and  spirit 
of  the  seminary,  tend  to  weaken  the  constitution,  to  cultivate  brain 
and  soul  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  body." 

"  I  notice,"  remarked  Catherine,  "  in  reading  the  biographies  of 
students,  great  scholars,  authors,  missionaries,  ministers,  what  a  large 
proportion  of  them  live  feeble,  suffering  lives;  and  a  great  many 
more  do  not  live  out  half  their  days." 
(56) 


PHYSICAL    CULTURE.  61 

"  On  the  other  hand,"  said  Peter,  "  it  has  passed  into  a  public 
jest  and  complaint,  how  many  young  men  seem  to  spend  their 
time,  money  and  energy,  in  college,  not  in  books,  but  in  ball  or 
boating  clubs.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  perfect  craze  of  walk-, 
ing,  rowing,  running,  swimming,  ball  and  cricket  and  shootingi 
matches.  A  great  many  young  men  occupy  their  days  in  travelling 
up  and  down  the  country,  as  champions  of  some  kind  of  athletic 
exhibitions." 

"The  very  fact  that  people  go  to  these  extremes  in  regard  to 
physical  culture,"  said  Violet,  "  should  show  us  that  there  is  some 
golden  mean  to  be  obtained,  and  we  should  search  for  it.  For  my- 
self, I  am  anxious  to  have  some  light  on  the  subject,  for  I  am  tired 
of  seeing  girls  with  '  round  shoulders,1  or  one  shoulder  higher  than 
the  other,  so  weary  all  the  time  that  they  never  feel  like  doing  any- 
thing. I  don't  see  why  people's  hair  must  fall  out,  and  their  teeth 
decay,  and  their  eyes  grow  dim,  and  their  skins  get  sallow  and 
wrinkled,  when  they  have  lived  only  about  half  the  four-score  years 
that  they  may  live." 

"  Some  people  seem  to  think  it  beneath  reasonable  beings  to  pay 
much  attention  to  flesh,  to  the  mortal  part  of  themselves,"  said 
Thomas. 

"And  others  make  the  flesh  the  main  object — they  live  to  eat, 
drink,  sleep,  amuse  themselves.  They  make  the  body  king,  and  a 
very  poor,  unroyal  king  it  is,"  retorted  Catherine  with  scorn. 

"Christianity,"  said  the  Stranger,  "claims  a  right  to  regulate  all 
our  affairs.  If  we  are  Christians,  our  Christianity  must  penetrate  all 
that  we  do.  It  must  make  the  judge  just ;  the  merchant  honest ;  the 
teacher  faithful ;  the  pupil  diligent;  the  servant  upright;  it  should 
make  the  street-sweeper  sweep  clean,  as  well  as  the  preacher  preach 
zealously;  it  bids  every  worker  do  well  his  work.  But  we  can  do 
but  little  good  work  when  we  strive  with  the  disadvantage  of  ill 
health.  If  we  ought  to  live  and  work  as  Christians  for  seventy  years, 
and  we  manage  so  to  defy  the  laws  of  nature  that  we  get  ourselves 
out  of  the  world  at  forty,  we  have  in  some  way  robbed  Heaven. 


58  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

This  is  an  unrecognized  and  respectable  fashion  of  suicide.  Man  is 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  but  man,  heir  of  hereditary  diseases,  and 
further  wrecked  by  his  own  ill  doings,  or  short-comings,  is  a  miser- 
able, distorted  image  of  his  Creator.  A  large  number  of  the  human 
race  have  fallen  far  enough  from  the  fleshly  perfection  of  Adam, 
which  God  himself  was  able  to  pronounce  very  good.  There  is 
.almost  no  more  important  element  in  your  usefulness,  happiness, 
goodness  indeed,  than  health." 

"  There  is  a  story  that  1  have  read  somewhere,"  said  Violet,  "  of  a 
country  called  Salntland,  a  sort  of  Arcadia,  where  no  one  is  ever 
sick,  and  every  one  lives  a  hundred  years,  entirely  contented  and 
good  natured ;  all  have  enough,  and  no  one  wants  too  much  of  any- 
thing ;  and  when  their  century  is  ended  they  pass  out  of  life  by  quietly 
going  to  sleep." 

"  If  there  were  such  an  island,"  said  Samuel,  "  the  sea  would  be 
whitened  with  boats  going  to  it,  carrying  crowds  of  people." 

"  But,"  interposed  Thomas,  "  there  would  be  a  Guardian  of  the 
Port,  who  would  allow  no  one  to  pass  carrying  anything  contraband, 
or  prejudicial  to  health ;  and  no  one  to  enter  who  would  not  sign  an 
undertaking  to  abide  by  all  the  laws  of  health." 

"  I'm  afraid  such  a  document  would  be  as  long  as  a  Chinese 
alphabet,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  If  these  laws  are  so  long  and  so  many,"  said  Catherine,  "  let  us 
set  about  hearing  them,  with  no  more  delay,  for  I  am  resolved  to 
know  how  to  take  care  of  myself." 

"  To  begin  then,"  said  Peter,  "  what  is  the  effect  of  light  on 
health  ?  " 

"There  is  no  more  important  factor  in  health  than  light"  said  the 
Stranger.  "  Light  is  often  victorious  in  maintaining  health  in  other- 
wise disastrous  conditions.  Given  plenty  of  sunlight,  and  people 
may  be  healthy  in  spite  of  poor  food,  hard  work,  little  sleep,  pressing 
cares.  Deprived  of  light,  people  get  what  is  called  an  etiolated  look 
—the  look  of  a  fading  leaf.  Some  may  fancy  this  very  lovely  and 
interesting,  but  it  is  merely  an  evidence  that  from  ignorance,  or 


PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  .          59 

wickedness,  they  are  neglecting  one  of  God's  finest  gifts.  Sunshine 
has  a  chemical  effect  in  maintaining  life,  in  the  animal  or  vegetable ; 
it  is  that  on  which  life  largely  feeds.  One  reason  why  the  children 
of  the  poor  so  often  look  more  robust  than  the  children  of  the  rich 
is,  that  they  are  not  so  shrouded  from  sunlight,  their  homes  are  not 
so  provided  with  curtains,  there  are  less  carpets  and  furnishings  to  be 
protected  from  light ;  the  children  themselves  have  more  of  their 
skins  exposed  to  the  beneficent  power  of  sunshine;  bare  heads,  arms, 
legs,  get  this  genial  influence.  Sickly  children  could  often  be  made 
healthy  by  turning  them  into  the  sunshine,  exposing  to  it  as  much 
of  their  flesh  as  possible.  Never  mind  the  tan :  that  is  the  health- 
stamp  of  the  generous  sun.  You  cannot  be  healthy  in  the  dark.  A 
house  must  not  be  over-much  shaded  either  by  trees  or  curtains. 
Every  room  should  be  sunned  part  of  every  day ;  especially  should 
the  family  sitting-room,  the  bed-rooms,  and  the  study,  be  well  exposed 
to  sunshine." 

"  I  have  heard  my  father  say,"  remarked  Thomas,  "  that  formerly 
as  soon  as  people  got  ill  they  were  put  in  curtained  beds  in  dark 
rooms.  The  only  wonder  is  that  any  recovered." 

"  I  consider  my  life  a  miracle,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  When  I 
had  the  measles,  I  remember  that  I  was  kept  for  a  month  in  a 
perfectly  dark  room,  blinds  closed,  windows  down,  curtains  drawn. 
If  any  one  wanted  to  see  or  find  anything,  a  candle  was  lit ;  if  the 
air  was  found  to  be  unpleasant,  some  paper,  apple  skins,  or  vinegar 
might  be  burned.  At  the  end  of  four  weeks  I  left  my  room,  but 
was  for  three  weeks  longer  too  feeble  to  leave  the  house.  Seven 
weeks  sacrificed  to  measles  ! " 

"  But  what  reason  for  such  absurd  treatment?" 

"The  light,  it  was  supposed,  would  hurt  my  eyes.  But  the  eyes 
might  have  been  shaded  and  the  room  left  light.  Dr.  Richardson,  a 
famous  English  physician,  says  of  light :  '  No  house  is  so  unhealthy 
as  a  dark  one ;  light  is  in  every  point  of  view  the  Agent  of  Health. 
The  practice  of  keeping  a  sick-room  dark  is  simply  pernicious. 
Shutting  yourself  from  the  light  is  an  offence  against  Nature,  which 


80          %  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

she   has  ever   rebuked  in  the   sternest  manner.'     At  the   head  of 
Golden  Rules  for  Securing  Health  I  would  put:  Keep  in  the  Light" 

"  Now,"  said  Catherine,  "  what  do  you  think  of  the  influence  of 
artificial  light?" 

"Artificial  light,"  said  the  Stranger, "is  injurious.  Violet  wishes  to 
know  why  our  eyesight  must  fail  us  in  middle  life.  One  reason  is 
because  we  make  too  much  use  of  artificial  light.  Artificial  light  is  in- 
jurious, first,  because  it  exhausts  the  oxygen  from  the  air  that  we  are 
breathing  ;  second,  because  it  discharges  carbon  into  that  air  ;  third,, 
because  it  creates  a  heat  near  the  eyes ;  fourth,  because  it  is  unsteady 
and  subject  to  fluctuations;  fifth,  because  it  generally  strikes  our  eye, 
book,  or  work  at  an  injurious  angle;  and  sixthly,  because  it  is  not 
the  natural  light  for  which  the  eye  was  constructed.  The  old  light 
of  candles  and  whale  oil  lamps  was  likely  to  be  feeble,  smoky,  and 
subject  to  wavering  from  draughts.  Gas  is  too  heating,  eats  up  too 
much  oxygen,  and  is  unsteady :  it  is  also  often  too  brilliant.  A  ker- 
osene oil-lamp  well  trimmed,  shaded  with  a  china  shade  and  placed 
in  a  proper  position,  is  probably  the  best  light  for  the  eyes  that  has 
been  found.  All  artificial  lights  are  more  or  less  injurious,  and  we 
should  spend  in  such  light  the  least  time  possible.  To  quote  again 
from  Dr.  Richardson :  '  In  the  short,  cold  days  we  need  more  sleep- 
than  in  the  long  ones.  The  fewer  hours  after  dark  that  we  spend  in 
artificial  light  the  better.'  While  sunlight  sustains  life,  artificial  light 
saps  life.  The  practice  of  sitting  up  late  to  study  is  very  harmful ; 
it  ends  in  injuring  eyes,  body,  and  brain,  and  really  lessening  our 
life-labor.  Diseases  of  the  eye  have  of  late  largely  augmented. 
One  reason  of  this  is,  that  as  books  have  multiplied,  and  the  passion 
for  reading  has  increased,  people  have  kept  later  hours,  and  made 
more  use  of  artificial  light.  Lights  are  now  cheaper  than  ever  before, 
and  poor  people  who  once  went  to  bed  soon  after  nightfall,  now  sit 
up  as  long  as  their  richer  neighbors.  The  German  government  lately 
ordered  investigations  made  in  regard  to  the  eyesight,  and  diseases 
of  the  eye,  among  children  in  the  schools.  The  number  of  cases  of 
feeble  or  defective  vision  was  alarming,  and  though  there  were  other 


I 
PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  «1 

causes  evident,  yet  artificial  light  was  considered  one  chief  reason  of 
the  trouble.  The  investigating  committee,  among  other  suggestions, 
recommended  that  the  chimney  of  a  kerosene  lamp  should  be  of 
light  blue,  or  pale  smoked-glass,  to  relieve  the  intense  yellow  ray 
of  the  flame,  and  give  it  more  the  quality  of  sunshine.  As  regards 
the  effect  of  light  on  the  eye,  the  angle  at  which  it  falls  is  important. 
This  is  true  whether  the  light  is  natural  or  artificial.  A  library,  or 
study,  or  studio  is  best  lighted  from  above,  as  is  done  at  the  British 
Museum,  where  there  are  no  side  windows  or  lights  in  the  Reading 
Room.  It  is  lit  from  the  dome.  Thus  the  light  falls  as  nature 
meant,  from  the  sky.  You  should  not  read  lying  down,  nor  with 
the  light  falling  full  across  the  eyes,  nor  in  too  dim  a  light,  when  the 
use  of  the  eye  occasions  a  tired,  straining  feeling.  Remember,  art 
cannot  afford  you  new  eyes  if  it  can  give  artificial  teeth,  or  hair,  or  a 
cork  leg.  Once  sacrifice  your  eyes,  and  no  repentance  can  undo  the 
^evil." 

"  If  light  from  above  is  best,"  said  Thomas,  "then,  since  we  cannot 
have  this,  as  most  of  our  rooms  are  now  built,  we  should,  I  suppose, 
•come  as  near  it  as  possible,  by  getting  light  where  we  are  working 
from  the  top  and  not  the  bottom  of  our  windows.  The  style  is  to 
admit  light  by  the  lower  half  of  the  window,  and  to  cover  the  top, 
first,  by  a  shade  on  a  roller,  then  by  a  lace  or  muslin  drapery,  and 
above  this  a  heavy  lambrequin.  This  is  an  odd  fashion  when  we 
need  both  to  light  and  ventilate  the  room  from  above.  The  best  use 
of  the  window  is  restricted." 

"You  must  remember,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  fashion  very  seldom 
takes  health  or  even  use  into  consideration.  Fashion  is  a  tyrant, 
and  tyrants  are  not  governed  by  reason,  but  by  whim." 

"  We  might  discuss  the  uses  and  abuses  of  light  for  hours,"  said 
Thomas,  "  but  suppose  we  next  inquire  what  is  the  effect  of  AIR  on 
health?" 

"Air,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  when  fresh  and  pure,  is  food  for  the 
blood ;  when  stagnant  or  impure,  it  is  poison.  Fresh  air  cleanses 
and  invigorates  the  system  :  it  affords  that  oxygen  that  feeds  the  fire 


62  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

of  life.  The  dark,  thick  blood  that  enters  the  lungs,  coming  there  in 
contact  with  pure  air  that  we  inhale,  becomes  red  and  vigorous,  and 
penetrates  and  renews  all  our  frame.  Only  pure  air  can  have  this 
effect;  badxair  entering  the  lungs  fills  the  blood  with  carbon,  and 
with  the  atoms  or  spores  of  disease  that  are  floating  about." 

"Of  all  things,"  said  Thomas,  "it  is  important  to  have  a  bed-room 
well  ventilated.  If  we  sleep  in  a  room  with  doors  and  windows 
shut,  we  rise  feeling  dull,  heavy,  a  bad  taste  in  the  mouth,  no  appe- 
tite, a  headache ;  and  it  takes  half  the  day  to  breathe  out  the  poison 
that  we  breathed  in  during  the  night.  Sleep  with  a  window  open,  / 
say." 

"  Yes,  that  is  a  good  saying,"  admitted  Catherine,  "  if  you  are  not 
in  a  draught." 

"  What  is  the  harm  of  a  draught  ?  "  asked  Violet,  "  it  often  feels 
delightfully  if  you  are  warm  to  have  wind  blow  on  you." 

"  But  it  is  dangerous :  the  cold  wind  striking  on  the  heated  skin 
checks  the  insensible  perspiration,  and  often  occasions  congestion. 
Sometimes  this  proves  quickly  fatal,  at  others  it  brings  on  a  cold,  or 
an  influenza,  or,  if  the  lungs  are  weak,  it  may  induce  permanent 
disease  in  them.  At  other  times,  the  draught  striking  on  some 
muscle,  may  occasion  an  inflammation,  or  contraction,  a  chronic 
rheumatism,  or  an  inflammatory  rheumatism,  that  may  produce  in 
its  turn  disease  of  the  heart.  When  one  has  been  working,  running,, 
or  skating,  and  is  hot  and  tired,  care  must  be  taken  in  sitting  down 
to  rest,  not  only  to  be  out  of  a  draught,  but  to  put  on  more  clothing: 
a  shawl,  coat,  or  scarf  should  be  added  to  the  clothing  in  which  we 
have  been  exercising." 

"  Is  it  not  very  important  to  change  the  air  of  the  rooms  that  we 
stay  in?"  asked  Samuel. 

"  Yes,  it  should  be  swept  out  by  a  strong  current  once  or  twice  a 
day.  Let  people  leave  the  living  rooms,  and  let  doors  and  win- 
dows be  opened,  the  temperature  lowered,  the  air  changed.  One 
good  airing  -will  keep  the  room  sweet  for  twelve  hours,  if  no  gas  or 
foul  matter  enters  it.  A  stale,  old  smell  in  rooms  is  dangerous  and 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  6* 

disgusting,  and  is  a  sure  token  of  poor  housekeeping,  no  matter  how 
slick  things  may  Look  on  the  surface,  nor  how  many  pretty  articles 
may  be  lying  about." 

"  Now  the  question  I  have  to  ask,"  said  Peter,  "  is  about  water. 
What  part  has  WATER  in  maintaining  health?" 

"  Plenty  of  pure  water  is  about  as  needful  as  pure  air  or  light. 
First,  for  cleansing  clothes,  houses,  furniture,  cleanliness.  The 
cleanliness  of  soap  and  water,  brooms,  brushes  and  dusting-cloths 
is  very  important  to  health." 

"  Listen,  Catherine,  Violet,  all  you  other  young  ladies !  "  cried 
Peter. 

"  Next,  water  is  very  important  for  bathing.  Our  skins  are  a  fine 
net-work  of  the  most  minute  pores;  these  pores  become  clogged  by 
the  hardening  of  insensible  perspiration — which  is  the  breathing  of 
the  body — and  by  dust  and  spores  and  lint  of  cloth  that  are  carried 
about  in  the  air.  A  mere  wash-off  with  cold  water,  unaccompanied 
by  violent  friction,  is  not  a  very  cleansing  process.  The  rubbing- 
with  the  use  of  water  may  make  the  skin  free.  Warm  water  wash- 
ing, with  soap  and  rubbing,  is  cleansing.  Some  constitutions  can 
only  bear  one  such  thorough  bath  weekly,  using  sponging  or  local 
bathing  daily.  Less  than  one  thorough  soap  and  warm  water  bath 
a  week,  is  positive  uncleanliness.  People  who  neglect  bathing  soon 
show  it,  by  a  thick,  untidy  look  about  their  skins,  and  a  close,  old, 
unpleasant  odor.  Most  people  are  better  for  a  daily  bath.  If  the 
feet  perspire  they  should  be  washed  daily ;  if  they  are  cold  they 
should  be  washed  and  rubbed  before  going  to  bed.  The  head  and 
throat  should  be  washed  in  cold  water-  that  is,  water  that  has  stood 
over  night  in  a  well-aired  bed-room.  This  will  prevent  taking  cold, 
and  will  often  cure  catarrh  or  cold  in  the  head.  To  bathe  the  eyes, 
the  back  of  the  neck  and  behind  the  ears,  with  water  of  the  tempera 
ture  of  the  air,  is  very  excellent  for  the  sight.  I  mean,  that  the  water 
used  should  be  what  has  been  standing  in  the  room.  This  bathing 
for  the  eyes,  night  and  morning,  does  much  to  strengthen  and  restore 
the  sight.  The  head  should  be  well  washed  occasionally  with  borax 


64  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

water.  This  cleanses  it  of  dust  and  dandruff,  preserves  and  brightens 
the  hair,  and  is  said  to  be  good  in  preventing  our  taking  fevers  and 
other  contagious  diseases.  Some  persons,  from  over-perspiration, 
or  disease,  have  a  bad  odor  arising  from  the  feet.  This,  even  in 
aggravated  cases,  can  be  cured  by  washing  the  feet,  night  and  morn- 
ing, with  warm  water  that  has  carbolic  acid  in  it.  Put  in  enough  of 
the  acid  to  smell  pretty  strong,  but  not  enough  to  affect  the  color 
of  the  skin  of  your  finger  as  you  stir  the  mixture.  Some  people 
take  a  very  nice  bath,  but  do  not  rub  dry  after  it ;  others  do  all  well, 
except  that  they  never  scour  their  nails ;  they  forget  them,  and  a 
long,  dark  nail  is  a  very  untidy  object.  It  is  well  to  have  a  brush  to 
scour  the  hands  and  nails." 

"As  you  are  speaking  of  bathing,  and  the  toilette,  suppose  you 
mention  the  care  of  the  teeth,"  said  Violet. 

"  Every  morning  the  teeth  should  be  well  scoured  with  a  brush 
and  clean  water,  and  a  dentifrice." 

"  Well,  what  dentifrice  ?  "  asked  Violet. 

"  Many  of  those  sold  are  injurious :  many  are  expensive.  The  best 
thing  that  I  know  of  for  cleaning  the  teeth  is  pulverized  borax.  Ten 
cents'  worth  should  last  you  a  year ;  you  can  stir  it  up,  a  little  at  a 
time,  in  a  small  bottle  of  water,  and  pour  this  solution  on  the  tooth- 
brush, or  you  can  wet  your  brush  and  dip  it  in  the  dry  borax. 
Finely  pulverized  precipitate  of  chalk  is  also  good,  and  you  can  per- 
fume it  with  a  little  violet  or  wintergreen  sachet  powder.  Clean  your 
teeth  in  pure  water  the  last  thing  at  night,  and  rinse  your  mouth 
after  each  meal.  Never  pick  the  teeth  with  metal,  but  always  with 
quills,  or  a  pick  made  of  wood.  Clean  teeth  will  find  it  hard  work  to 
decay.  If  your  teeth  get  holes  in  them,  you  should  save  money  and 
pain  by  getting  them  filled  at  once.  Teeth  were  not  made  to  bite  pins 
or  crack  nuts  with." 

"And  are  you  going  to  say  nothing  of  water  as  a  drink?"  de- 
manded Samuel,  laughing. 

"  I  suppose  water  and  milk  are  the  only  two  natural  drinks,  and 
therefore  they  must  be  good.  A  warm  drink,  as  tea  or  coffee,  agrees 


PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  65 

best  with  some  people  for  breakfast.  Cocoa  and  chocolate  are  also 
very  nourishing,  but  pure  water  is  the  best  drink  of  all.  Mind  that 
pure.  Pond  or  creek  water,  unfiltered  cistern  water,  or  the  water 
of  wells  which  stand  among  dwelling-houses,  may  be  considered 
dangerous.  A  living  spring  from  a  rock,  a  deep,  large  lake,  a  large, 
swift  river,  or  filtered  cistern  water,  are  the  best.  The  springs  of 
some  districts  contain  an  amount  of  lime  that  is  hurtful  to  some 
constitutions.  Almost  any  water  is  better  for  being  filtered.  If  you 
have  not  a  bought  or  patent  filter,  you  can  make  one.*  Every  cis- 
tern should  be  large,  divided  by  a  perpendicular  wall  made  for 
filtering,  and  the  water  from  the  roof  should  run  into  one  side  of  the 
cistern,  while  the  pump  should  draw  the  filtered  water  from  the 
other  side.  Unwholesome  water  can  be  made  less  dangerous  by 
boiling" 

"  We  shall  soon  learn  how  to  take  care  of  ourselves,  and  be  can- 
didates for  citizenship  in  Salutland"  said  Violet. 

"  We  shall  first  need  to  learn  about  our  food,"  said  Robert,  "  for  on 
this  point  I  dare  say  we  shall  learn  about  things  contraband,  which 
we  cannot  carry  into  Sahttland" 

"  In  the  matter  of  food,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  we  are  very  pecu-, 
liarly  laws  unto  ourselves.  It  is  an  old  proverb  that  '  One  man's 
meat  is  another  man's  poison.'  What  agrees  with  one  may  disagree 
with  another.  Most  of  us  have  some  idiosyncracies  in  this  regard, 
which  we  must  consider.  I  knew  of  a  man  who  was  always  made 
blind  for  an  hour  or  two  by  eating  strawberries.  A  French  philoso- 
pher used  to  have  convulsions  at  the  mere  sight  of  a  cucumber. 
Fish  gives  some  people  a  headache  ;  and  I  knew  a  lady  who  was 
always  ill  if  she  took  pepper  on  an  egg,  though  she  could  use  pepper 
on  other  things.  Some  people  can  only  relish  and  digest  apples, 
melons,  or  nuts  when  well  sprinkled  with  salt ;  and  a  friend  of  mine 
peppers  icecream!  Yet  with  all  this  divergency  of  taste,  and  all 
these  constitutional  whims — which  like  some  other  things  are  not  as 

*See  "Complete  Home,"  p.  454 


66  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Horace  would  say,  'to  be  expelled  with  a  fork' — there  are  rules 
which  we  may  safely  lay  down  in  regard  to  our  food. 

"  First,  never  over-eat.  Don't  surfeit  yourself,  even  occasionally. 
More,  by  half,  die  of  over  than  of  under-feeding.  Abstemious 
people  as  a  rule  live  the  longest.  And  yet  there  are  those,  and  I 
believe  chiefly  among  young  people,  who  are  '  outgrowing  their 
strength/  as  it  is  called,  and  zealous  young  students,  who  fancy 
that  activity  of  stomach  impairs  activity  of  brain,  who  fall  into  the 
folly  of  under-feeding  themselves." 

"  But  tell  me,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  is  it  not  true  that  hearty  eat- 
ing dulls  the  keenness  of  thought?" 

"  No  one  should  undertake  active  mental  effort,  as,  to  think  out 
an  abstruse  theme,  or  learn  a  lesson,  within  an  hour  or  an  hour  and 
a  half  after  eating  a  meal.  For  that  time  we  owe  our  stomach 
nerve  force,  and  we  should  not  distract  that  force  to  the  brain.  If 
we  do,  we  injure  equally  brain  and  stomach.  But  this  is  not  an 
argument  against  eating;  it  is  an  argument  for  giving  brain  and  body 
fair  play.  A  brain  cannot  long  work  well  in  an  enfeebled  body.  If 
we  would  keep  up  our  working  force,  retain  our  eyesight,  and  keep 
our  nerves  strong  and  calm,  we  must  give  our  bodies  food,  and  time 
to  digest  it.  Some  young  students  rise  a  long  while  before  break- 
fast to  go  to  their  books,  because  they  fancy  that  their  minds  act 
more  keenly  when  the  stomach  is  empty.  Possibly  they  do  for  a 
time ;  but  the  nerves,  the  eyes,  the  brain  itself,  will  resent  this  being 
forced  to  work  ort  nothing.  As  physical  labor  cannot  be  advan- 
tageously performed  when  one  is  fasting,  neither  can  mental.  Many 
young  students  break  down  during  their  course  of  study,  or  are 
weakly  all  their  lives,  merely  because  they  did  not  know  that  it  took 
beef,  milk  and  meal,  to  keep  the  brain  in  working  order,  as  well  as 
the  biceps  brachialis" 

"  I  don't  know  what  that  is,"  interrupted  Violet. 

"  It  is  the  great  muscle  of  the  forearm,  which  you  will  see  so  well 
developed  in  Ned  the  blacksmith." 

"Well,  can  we  arrive  at  some  rule  about  eating?"  said  Peter. 
"  Let  us  say,  eat  three  meals  a  day." 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  67 

"  But  Dio  Lewis  also  said,  '  no  supper  or  tea,'  "  said  Violet. 

"  That  may  suit  some  constitutions — his  probably.  As  I  told  you, 
in  these  matters  we  must  be  in  a  great  degree  rules  for  ourselves. 
But  many,  indeed  most  people,  cannot  stand  the  two-meals-a-day 
plan,  especially  if  they  are  working,  exercising,  or  studying,  in  the 
afternoon,  and  between  six  and^ten  in  the  evening.  The  best  rule  is, 
three  meals  a  day,  eaten  at  regular  hours,  of  wholesome  food,  and  at 
each  meal  eating  enough  to  satisfy,  but  not  enough  to  feel  over  full, 
heavy,  or  satiated.  It  is  a  bad  sign  when  the  breakfast  is  little  de- 
sired, ill  relished,  or  ill  digested.  In  the  morning  the  stomach 
should  be  active  from  emptiness  and  rest,  and  should  be  capable  of 
assimilating  reasonable  food  presented  to  it.  The  heartiest  meal 
of  the  day  should  be  taken  about  one  o'clock,  and  there  should  be  a 
period  of  comparative  rest  before  and  after  eating  it,  that  the  blood 
may  not  be  overheated,  or  the  nerves  exhausted.  A  hearty  meal 
should  not  be  taken  late  in  the  evening.  The  practice  of  great  sup- 
pers taken  late,  at  parties,  is  very  injurious.  It  is  also  exceedingly 
harmful  to  be  eating  between  meals.  In  fact,  if  you  want  a  good 
digestion,  without  which  there  can  be  no  good  health,  you  should 
eat  at  regular  hours,  just  a  sufficiency,  of  plain,  wholesome,  agreeable 
food." 

"And  what  kinds  of  food  are  most  to  be  commended  ? "  asked 
John  Frederick. 

"  There  are  some  kinds  of  food  more  sustaining,  easy  of  digestion, 
and  more  universally  agreeable  than  others,"  replied  the  Stranger; 
"and  let  me  here  say,  that  just  as  young  people  are  apt  to  take  whims 
about  the  quantity  and  time  of  their  eating,  so  they  are  liable  to  take 
whims  about  the  kind  of  their  food,  encouraging  in  themselves  a 
dislike  of  what  is  really  the  best  for  them  to  use.  Parents  are  gen- 
erally to  blame  for  this  finical  taste  in  food.  Children  should  be 
taught  to  exercise  reason,  and  not  caprice.  Bread  is  the  most 
essential  article  of  food.  When  it  has  in  it  a  portion  of  unbolted 
flour,  it  contains  all  the  constituents  for  maintaining  life.  It  is  the 
most  easily  digested  and  the  most  nourishing  thing  that  we  can  eat, 


68  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

provided  it  be  sweet,  and  light,  and  well  baked.  Milk  is  also  a  very 
important  article  of  diet.  An  eminent  physician  says  that  there  must 
be  something  wrong  with  a  stomach  which  will  not  relish  new  milk. 
Fruit,  well  ripened,  and  either  cooked  or  uncooked,  is  another  boun- 
•  tiful  provision  of  nature  for  our  needs.  The  mild  acids  of  fruit 
correct  disease,  refresh  the  whole  system,  create  appetite  and  stimu- 
late digestion." 

"Almost  all  kinds  of  grain,  as  corn,  oat  or  rye  meal,  barley  and 
wheat,  are  excellent  food,"  said  Thomas;  "they  supply  brain,  blood 
and  muscle  material,  are  easily  digested,  and  generally  agreeable." 

"As  for  vegetables,"  said  Violet,  "  I  have  heard  it  said  that  those 
that  grow  in  the  ground,  as  beets,  potatoes,  turnips,  carrots,  and  so 
on,  are  heating  in  quality,  and  best  suited  for  winter  use,  while  those 
that  grow  above  ground  are  best  for  summer." 

"And  I  have  read  that  mature  meats  are  better  than  the  meat  of 
young  animals:  as  beef  is  more  wholesome  than  veal,  mutton  than 
lamb,  and  so  on,"  added  Robert. 

"  People  should  observe  themselves,  and  their  own  powers  of  di- 
gestion," said  the  Stranger.  "They  should  not  eat  food  which 
disagrees  with  them,  even  though  that  food  is  pleasant  to  the  taste, 
and  wholesome  to  most  people.  We  have  no  right  to  outrage  our 
digestive  organs  with  food  that  they  cannot  master." 

"  I  should  like  to  hear  something  of  the  relative  values  of  food,  in 
regard  to  nutrition,"  said  Peter. 

"The  German  government  has  published  a  Farmer's  Almanac, 
containing  a  table  of  valuation  of  nutritive  elements  in  various  kinds 
of  food.  We  find  from  this  that  fresh  fish  has  not  the  nutritive  value 
of  dried  or  smoked  fish.  A  pound  of  either  fresh  cod,  halibut,  bass, 
eels,  or  trout,  is  of  much  less  value  as  food  than  a  pound  of  beef; 
while  dried  cod,  smoked  herring  and  salt  mackerel  contain  much 
more  nutrition,  pound  for  pound,  than  fresh.  Taking  beef  as  the 
par  of  valuation,  butter  and  cheese  are  from  twenty-four  to  fifty-five 
above;  while  eggs  are  twenty-eight  below,  and  skimmed  milk  has 
only  eighteen  per  cent,  of  nutrition.  Beans  have  no  fibrine  and  little 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  69 

saline  matter;  they  have  over  twice  the  nutritive  qualities  of  beef,  but 
less  available,  as  they  are  much  more  difficult  to  digest.  Bread  has 
more  nutritive  qualities  than  beef,  but  lacks  fibrine ;  rice  and  sago 
lack  saline  qualities  and  nitrogen;  thus  you  see  we  need  variety  in 
food.  The  value  of  food  can  also  be  altered  to  us,  by  our  powers  of 
digestion,  or  by  the  time  we  can  give  our  stomach  for  assimilating  it. 
If  we  know  that  we  must  undertake  any  labor  or  exercise  soon  after 
the  meal,  we  should  be  scrupulous  to  use  only  food  that  can  be 
easily  and  quickly  digested.  Young  people  should  all  study  physi- 
ology, and  read  works  on  chemistry  and  on  health,  so  as  to  know 
hbw  to  take  care  of  themselves." 

"But  I  do  hate,"  said  Samuel,  "to  see  people  fussy  about  them- 
selves, always  finding  something  that  they  cannot  do,  or  that  dis- 
agrees with  them.  They  interfere  with  every  one's  comfort, 'that  the 
house  may  be  kept  at  just  the  temperature  tJiey  like,  that  they  may 
lie  down  just  so.  often,  or  so  long,  that  they  may  eat  just  what 
some  quack  has  persuaded  them  they  must  have.  I  do  hate  such 
people." 

"  You  must  be  thinking  of  your — "  began  Peter,  at  Samuel's  out- 
burst, but  Catherine  tweaked  his  sleeve  just  in  time,  and  covered 
Samuel's  embarrassment  at  betraying  his  troubles  with  his  aunt,  by- 
saying,  quickly: 

"  Samuel  is  thinking  of  the  man  in  the  Spectator,  who  sat  in  a 
weighing  chair,  and  regulated  his  food,  sleep,  exercise,  warmth,  all 
by  grains  and  pennyweights." 

"We  can  carry  all  things  to  excess,"  said  the  Stranger;  "we  must 
reasonably  take  care  of  that  wonderful  organism,  the  body,  with 
which  Heaven  has  entrusted  us,  and  to  do  this  we  need  not  become 
hypochondriacs  or  valetudinarians,  and,  like  the  man  in  the  story, 
carry  around  a  pair  of  pocket  scales,  to  weigh  our  mouthfuls,  and 
then  be  forever  praying  people  not  to  startle  us." 

"Another  thing  we  should  remember,"  said  Thomas,  "is  not  to  eat 
fast.  Food  eaten  too  rapidly  is  hard  to  digest ;  it  does  not  reach 
the  stomach  in  a  proper  state.  If  we  eat  too  fast,  we  are  liable  to  eat 


70  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

too  much.  We  should  eat  slowly  and  chew  our  food  well ;  that*  is 
what  our  teeth  are  for.  Chickens  have  no  teeth,  but  they  have,  in- 
stead, a  gizzard  to  grind  up  their  food ;  lacking  this  organ,  many 
people  yet  wish  to  bolt  their  food  like  chickens." 

"  That  is  right,  Thomas,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  you  will  be  a  prac- 
tical doctor  when  you  get  your  diploma." 

"  What  do  you  say  of  variety  in  food  ?  "  asked  a  young  girl. 

'Too  large  a  variety  of  food,  at  the  same  meal,  or  even  a  wide 
variety  between  different  meals,  is  apt  to  encourage  over-eating,  and 
demand  also  too  much  exertion,  from  our  digestive  organs.  People 
who  are  called  '  high  livers,'  who  eat  a  great  variety  of  food,  and 
those  who  live  at  hotels,  are  apt  to  be  full  and  florid  in  habit,  but 
are  also  more  liable  to  sudden  and  violent  diseases  than  those  who 
live  plainly.  I  have  no  doubt  that  one  kind  of  meat,  one  vegetable, 
good  bread,  one  kind  of  fruit,  and  a  simple  dessert,  is  not  only  a 
sufficient  bill  of  fare,  but  the  best  that  could  be  offered.  An  author 
of  some  note  has  described  a  model  dinner,  given  by  a  lady  of  wealth 
•  and  taste.  The  simplicity  of  this  meal  may  startle  those  who  load 
their  table  with  twenty  varieties  when  they  have  guests.  But  I  ven- 
ture to  say  that  her  friends  went  home  without  a  headache,  her  cook 
was  not  out  of  temper,  and  she  herself  had  not  found  it  'trouble- 
some '  to  entertain  company.  First  course :  Soup  and  a  piece  of 
stale  bread ;  Second :  -Roast  beef,  not  over-done,  white  potatoes,  and 
sweet  potatoes;  Third  course:  A  slice  of  melon  »for  each  guest; 
Fourth :  Ice-cream  and  lady-finger  cakes.  If  you  waht  a  clear  head 
and  a  smooth  complexion,  study  the  simplicity  of  this  meal.  A 
person  of  rny  acquaintance,  who  was  always  in  good  health,  in- 
variably took  for  dinner  a  slice  of  meat,  one  vegetable,  varying  the 
'vegetable  each  day,  a  piece  of  stale  bread,  no  gravy,  a  baked  apple 
or  a  spoonful  of  apple-sauce,  and  a  plain  dessert,  but  never  any  pie 
or  pastry." 

"  What  about  spices  ?  "  asked  Samuel. 

"  The  taste  for  spices,  or  high  seasoning,  is  usually  an  acquired 
one.  A  little  seasoning  with  our  food  is  pleasant,  and  most  likely 


PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  71 

helpful  to  digestion  ;  but  a  lavish  use  of  tea,  coffee  and  spices  impairs 
digestion  ;  and,  what  will  prove  a  weighty  argument  with  you  Young 
People,  it  injures  the  complexion.  Many  young  folks  feel  much 
mortified  at  a  rough  skin,  or  eruptions  on  their  face,  when  they  might 
escape  them  entirely  by  using  simple  food.  To  avoid  this  difficulty 
with  their  skins,  some  young  people  eat  very  little,  being  ignorant 
that  the  trouble  often  arises  from  a  poorness  of  blood,  that  is  in  need 
of  better  nourishment,  and  that  beef,  brown  bread,  and  fruit  would 
soon  clear  up  their  skins.  The  worst  breakfast  that  you  can  eat, 
especially  if  you  mean  to  perform  mental  or  physical  labor,  is  a 
breakfast  of  buckwheat  cakes  and  strong  coffee.  Buckwheat  is  not 
a  food  sufficiently  nourishing  for  us  to  work  on ;  the  real  elements 
of  support  in  such  a  breakfast  come  from  the  butter  and  syrup  which 
you  eat  with  your  cakes.  But  these  two  articles  are  nearly  all  car- 
bon, and  will  give  you  fat,  but  not  nerve,  brain,  muscle  or  blood 
material.  The  cakes  seem  very  pleasant  and  satisfying;  we  say  we 
'have  eaten  heartily,' but  by  eleven  o'clock,  or  earlier,  we  feel 'a 
goneness;'  the  proper  fuel  for  the  life-fires  is  exhausted,  and  they 
have  begun  to  burn  up  tissue.  If  you  want  your  buckwheat  cakes, 
eat  first  some  beef,  or  some  oat-meal  porridge,  some  brown  bread, 
or  an  egg,  and  take  the  cakes — and  not  too  many  of  them — after- 
wards." 

"  You  are  just  coming  to  a  very  important  question,"  said  Robert 
— "things  contraband.  What  articles  of  food  or  drink  are  there  that 
we  must  not  use  ?  " 

"I  know,"  said  Catherine  promptly:  "ivhiskey  and  tobacco,  and 
after  that  will  be  added  opiates,  and  then  pies,  pastries,  cakes,  candies 
— the  ornamental  food." 

"  Undoubtedly,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  we  will  set  down  whiskey 
(with  all  its  varieties  of  wine,  ale,  beer,  and  so  on),  and  then  tobacco, 
as  articles  wholly  inadmissible  in  Salutland.  To  take  the  whiskey 
and  tobacco  together,  in  the  first  accusations — when  used  by  the 
young  and  physically  immature  they  retard  growth  and  hinder  the 
development  of  muscular  strength,  and  the  activity  of  the  brain.  In 


f2  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

all  classes  who  use  them,  these  poisons  render  one  liable  to  disease; 
make  the  system  less  amenable  to  the  power  of  medicine  when  one 
is  ill;  induce  chronic  complaints;  injure  the  nerves;  produce  a  look 
of  premature  age,  and  destroy  will-power,  sympathy,  and  moral  sense. 
Thus  you  see  these  indulgences,  whiskey  and  tobacco,  make  a  man 
sick  if  he  is  well ;  keep  him  sick  when  he  is  sick;  bring  on  apace  old 
age  and  feebleness,  and  by  ruining  the  nerves,  the  will,  the  sym- 
pathies, and  the  morals,  make  one  a  wreck  of  which  it  seems  hardly 
worth  while  to  prolong  the  existence.  Dr.  Cartwright,  of  New  Or- 
leans, makes  this  statement :  '  The  yellow  fever  came  down  like  a 
storm  on  New  Orleans,  where  there  were  1,127  saloons  in  one  of  the 
four  parts  into  which  the  city  had  been  divided.  Five  thousand  of 
the  supporters  of  these  haunts  died  before,  so  far  as  I  can  reach  the 
facts,  one  single  sober  man  was  touched.'  The  use  of  whiskey  and 
tobacco  readily  becomes  a  powerful  habit,  because  they  attack  the 
>  strength  of  the  Will,  and  we  form  a  custom  of  using  them,  and  this 
habit  we  have  not  sufficient  will-power  left  to  break.  The  young 
should  watch  themselves  closely  to  see  that  they  do  not  form  evil 
habits.  It  is  true,  as  Addison  says,  that  men  '  might  conquer  their 
corrupt  inclinations  with  half  the  pains  they  are  at  to  gratify  them ;' 
but  how  seldom,  when  an  evil  habit  is  fixed,  is  there  enough  will- 
power left  to  uproot  it!  Solomon  uses  a  strong  expression,  'Put  a 
knife  to  thy  throat,  if  thou  art  a  man  given  to  dainties.'  When  you 
stand  in  early  life,  free  of  the  terrible  bondage  of  evil  passions,  as  you 
value  your  life,  your  soul,  your  happiness,  as  you  have  any  ambi- 
tions, hopes,  fair  prospects,  do  not  destroy  all  by  accepting  the  insid- 
ious bondage  of  a  wrong  indulgence.  The  drunkard  alarms  you 
often  by  the  horrors  of  delirium-tremens ;  the  awful  exhibition  of  his 
destroying  tastes ;  he  lies  before  you  a  corrupt  sot  in  a  ditch,  or 
cowers  in  a  felon's  cell,  a  shocking  ruin  of  a  man  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  a  man  made  upright,  but  who  has  sought  out  many  inven- 
tions. The  penalties  of  the  use  of  tobacco  are  less  apparent,  and 
may,  doubtless,  be  less  terrible ;  but  the  agonies  of  cancer  in  the 
mouth  or  stomach,  a  disease  often  produced  by  nicotine,  the  shaking 


PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  73 

hand,  the  tortures  of  diseased  nerves,  palsy,  and  a  train  of  other 
miseries  from  nicotine  poisoning,  should  warn  you  to  beware.  You, 
young  fellows,  indulge  in  cigarettes;  you  call  them  harmless  and 
genteel ;  they  are  even  more  dangerous  than  a  pipe ;  the  paper 
they  are  in  is  saturated  with  arsenic;  the  tobacco  more  rapidly 
attacks  the  membranes  of  the  throat  and  stomach,  and  their  use 
become  more  readily  an  inveterate  habit.  Catherine  has  mentioned 
the  taking  of  opiates.  People  begin  to  use  these  from  two  causes, 
either  from  curiosity  to  see  how  they  will  act,  or  from  a  wish  to  con- 
trol some  kind  of  pain.  The  curiosity  mentioned  has,  in  more  cases 
than  one,  destroyed  body,  life,  soul.  As  for  pain,  every  effort  should 
be  made  to  remove  or  subdue  its  cause ;  it  is  better  to  bear  pain 
bravely,  than  to  habitually  indulge  in  opiates;  they  should  not  be 
used  except  under  the  advice  of  an  experienced  physician." 

"  Before  leaving  the  subject  of  things  contraband,"  cried  John 
Frederick,  "do  say  something  which  may  be  shared  by  the  girls. 
They  see  no  charms  in  beer  or  tobacco.  What  is  their  favorite  in- 
dulgence ?  Condemn  candy,  or  tarts,  or  pies — " 

"No,  no,  don't!"  cried  Peter,  "for  men  are  much  fonder  of  pies 
than  women  are.  I  like  candy  myself,  and  as  for  tarts — don't  deprive 
me  of  tarts." 

"  The  less  of  them  the  better,"  said  their  friend.  "A  little  candy, 
made  without  adulterations  of  clays  or  poisonous  acids,  is  not  injuri- 
ous. The  universal  craving  of  the  young  for  sweet  things  indicates 
some  need  of  them ;  but  they  should  be  pure  sweets,  and  very 
frugally  used.  Pie  crust  can  be  made  to  be  less  than  an  abomina- 
tion; but  while  there  are  so  many  good  plain  puddings  to  be  had, 
we  should  eat  pastry  but  seldom.  As  for  tarts,  they  should  also  be 
an  unusual  indulgence,  and  the  fruit,  I  think,  is  too  good  by  itself  to 
be  spoiled  by  associating  it  with  pastry." 

"  Let  us  change  the  subject,"  said  Peter,  "  before  you  deprive  us 
of  too  many  things  that  we  delight  in.  Say  something  about  that 
choice  indulgence — sleep." 

"  For  my  part,"  said  Thomas,  "  I  don't  at  all  believe  with  Dr, 


74  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Franklin  when  he  sings  the  virtues  of  early  rising.  He  has  helped 
to  make  Americans  a  hurried,  nervous  race,  with  his  crusade  for 
early  rising.  Sleep  is  a  medicine ;  sleep  prevents  disease ;  sleep  pro- 
longs life.  Napoleon  said  and  did  many  foolish  things,  but  nevei 
one  more  foolish  than  the  saying  that  four  hours  sleep  was  enough 
for  a  man,  and  five  enough  for  a  woman." 

"  He  differs  from  Dr.  Richardson,"  replied  the  Stranger.  "He  says 
that  on  the  longest  day  of  the  year,  when  people  need  least  sleep, 
seven  hours  slumber  may  do  for  healthy  people  in  the  prime  of  life; 
in  the  short  days  nine  hours  is  not  too  much :  if  people  are  feeble, 
they  need  ten  or  eleven  hours,  and  young  children  should  have  from 
ten  to  twelve  hours  of  sound  sleep.  Students  should  never  take  less 
than  nine  hours — this  much  is  needed  to  repair  the  waste  of  brain, 
invigorate  the  nerves  and  fit  one  for  fresh  efforts.  Late  to  bed,  and 
correspondingly  late  to  rise,  is  a  bad  rule ;  it  keeps  one  in  artificial 
light,  robs  them  of  daylight,  and  deprives  them  also  of  the  most  in- 
vigorating sleep,  that  which  is  taken  before  midnight.  Says  Dr. 
Richardson :  '  It  is  not  an  idleness  to  indulge  in  sleep  until  one  is 
thoroughly  rested;  it  is  an  actual  saving,  a  storing  up  of  invigorated 
existence  for  the  future.'  Sleep  in  a  well-aired  room,  where  there  is 
no  artificial  light,  and  where  early  daylight  will  not  fall  over  your 
eyes.  Going  to  bed  by  ten  o'clock,  sleep  until  you  are  rested,  but 
do  not  lie  lazily  in  bed  after  you  are  rested  and  wide  awake,  and  quite 
fit  to  rise.  If  you  must  be  up  early,  go  to  bed  correspondingly  early." 


CHAPTER    FOURTH. 

PHYSICAL   CULTURE    CONTINUED. 

jHE  next  discussion  of  physical  culture  occurred  out  of 
doors.     The  young  people  had  been  having  a  June 
party,  and  when  dinner  was  over,  and  various  exer- 
cises had  wearied  them,  they  gathered  around  their 
Mentor  and  began  a  conversation  on  health. 
"  There  are  other  ways  of  resting,  are  there  not,  besides  sleep  ?  " 
asked  John  Frederick. 

"  Change  of  labor  is  rest,"  said  Thomas ;  "  you  bring  a  new  and 
unwearied  set  of  muscles  into  action,  and  those  that  are  tired  by 
previous  exertion  rest.  It  is  like  the  rotation  of  crops,  or  nature's 
rotation  of  forest  trees  :  first  those  that  gather  from  the  soil  its 
alkalies,  and  then  those  that  demand  the  acids." 

"  But  beyond  the  rest  of  change  of  work,  as  from  mental  to  physi- 
cal labor,  or  from  in-doors  to  out-of-doors  employment,  from  seden- 
tary to  muscular  toil,  I  think  we  often  need  real  rest,  a  ceasing  from 
all  occupation,  and  that  not  merely  by  going  to  sleep." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  the  Stranger;  "  in  other  words,  we  want  play. 
The  ancients  said,  'Neither  doth  Apollo  always  strain  his  bow.' 
After  hard  work,  either  mental  or  physical,  we  need  recreation  ;  one 
sleeps  better  when  the  day  has  had  its  amusement  as  well  as  its  toil ; 
after  overwork  the  sleep  may  be  too  deep,  or  it  may  be  restless,  and 
we  wake  either  weak  or  weary.  The  relaxation  of  a  recreation  puts 
us  in  better  train  for  sleep.  Those  who  work  their  brains  hard  need 
this  rest  of  amusement  more  than  those  who  are  engaged  in  muscu- 
lar work,  for  brain-toil  is  the  most  taxing.  Thus,  ministers,  authors, 

(75) 


76  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

editors,  teachers,  students,  lawyers  and  doctors  need  in  each  year 
vacations,  or  they  are  likely  to  break  down  from  overwork.  The 
farmer  does  not  so  much  need  these  vacations,  and  fancying  that 
ploughing,  sowing  and  reaping  are  harder  work  than  that  done  in  the 
learned  professions,  he  attributes  the  vacation-taking  to  laziness,  and, 
if  he  is  concerned  in  granting  it,  he  is  unwilling  to  do  so.  The 
farmer  thinks  that  his  work  is  the  hardest,  because  it  makes  him 
sweat,  and  because  he  gets  more  tired  for  the  time  being,  and  in  his 
calloused  hands  and  bronzed  skin  shows  more  of  the  effects  of  toil. 
But  his  labor  is  not  a  cause  of  constant  anxiety  or  perplexity;  the 
author  is  forever  strained  to  consult  the  public  need  and  the  public 
taste;  the  physician's  nerves  and  sympathies  are  constantly  on  the 
alert  with  the  varied  and  unusual  development  of  symptoms  in  his 
patients;  so  of  the  other  learned  professions — mind  is  always  on  the 
rack.  But  the  farmer  knows  that  the  public  always  has  and  will 
want  hay,  turnips,  wheat  and  beef  cattle,  and  he  knows  the  best  way 
of  raising  these,  and  in  his  raising  them  he  is  independent.  The 
farmer's  work  'gets  done'  some  time,  and  it  is  not  of  a  kind  that 
haunts  him  in  his  sleep;  but  how  often  does  the  student  construe 
Greek  sentences,  the  author  plan  a  book,  the  lawyer  plead  a  case, 
when  they  are  supposed  to  be  quietly  sleeping,  and  ought  to  be 
resting,  while,  in  fact,  the  busy  brain  is  rampant,  and  wearing  itself 
out.  Another  reason  why  the  student  or  professional  man  needs 
vacation,  and  amusement  that  shall  be  an  entire  change  for  him,  and 
give  a  new  tenor  to  his  life  and  thoughts,  is,  that  his  work  is  confin- 
ing: it  keeps  him  in  a  great  degree  out  of  fresh  air,  and  in  a  forced 
posture  at  a  book  or  over  a  desk,  while  the  farmer  and  mechanic  are 
busy  in  the  open  air,  the  oxygen  about  them  being  continually  re- 
newed, and  their  muscular  motions  sending  the  blood  in  strong 
currents  through  their  veins.  Thus  we  find  that  the  farmer  and 
artisan  gain  an  appetite  from  their  work,  while  students  often  lose 
appetite." 

"  What  amusements  would  you  advise  ?  "  demanded  Robert. 

"  The  subject  of  amusements  is  such  a  wide  one  that  it  would  be 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  77 

well  to  defer  it  to  another  occasion,  and  at  this  time  settle  the  fact 
that  we  need  some  kind  of  recreation,"  replied  the  Stranger. 

"And  is  this  need  general  ?  "  asked  Catherine,  "  or  does  it  belong 
only  to  students  ?  " 

"It  is  universal,"  said  the  Stranger;  "but  in  some  climates,  and 
during  some  periods  of  life,  the  need  of  play,  of  amusement,  is  greater 
than  in  others.  Thus,  children  need  more  play  than  is  demanded  at 
any  other  time  of  life.  Until  seven  years,  at  least,  the  child  should 
do  little  else  but  play:  its  work  and  its  small  amount  of  study  being 
made  a  play  to  it  From  ten  to  twenty  years  much  more  amusement 
is  needed  than  between  thirty  and  fifty.  As  the  kitten  grows  into  the 
staid  cat,  and  the  calf  and  colt  change  into  demure,  full-grown  ani- 
mals, so  the  frolicsome  young  human  quiets  into  middle  age,  and 
finds  its  rest  and  its  entertainment  in  peaceable  rides,  visits,  talks,  ex- 
periments, books,  that  in  earlier  years  would  themselves  have  been  a 
task.  It  is  to  be  noticed  also  that  our  climate  in  America,  or  our 
atmosphere,  is  more  wearing  upon  the  nerves  than  the  climate  of 
Europe.  In  contrast  with  the  phlegmatic  German,  and  the  florid, 
robust  Englishman,  the  typical  American  is  a  nervous  being.  We 
are  developing  a  hurried,  sensitive,  anxious  race,  and  we  need  more 
rest,  more  play,  to  distract  our  minds,  than  do  our  over-the-water 
cousins.  But  the  truth  is,  that  our  Dutch,  German,  French  and 
British  friends  take  more  general  holidays,  relax  and  amuse  them- 
selves more  than  we  do.  There  is  more  going  out  of  families 
together,  holiday-making;  more  open  air  sitting,  romping  and  sport- 
ing than  we  have.  In  America  a  lady  of  the  middle  or  upper  classes 
is  seldom  seen  abroad  unless  in  full  dress,  as  she  walks  or  rides  to 
shop,  call,  visit,  or  something  of  that  kind.  But  go  to  Paris,  and  in 
the  public  parks  or  gardens,  along  the  walks  of  the  great  Champs 
Elysees,  which  is  merely  a  broad  and  shaded  public  drive,  and  quite 
free  from  dust,  you  see  hundreds  of  handsome  and  well-dressed 
ladies,  married  and  single,  occupying  the  chairs  and  benches  for  a 
whole  afternoon.  They  have  with  them  their  children,  and  the 
nurse-maid,  if  they  keep  one.  They  employ  the  time  in  knitting, 


78  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

sewing,  embroidering,  reading.  They  are  not  ashamed  to  be  cro- 
chetting  a  scarf  or  hood,  or  making  a  child's  apron,  or  embroidering 
its  petticoat.  They  sit  in  little  knots  of  friends,  from  two  to  ten 
together;  they  chat  of  the  news  of  the  day,  family  interests,  the 
fashions,  the  passers-by,  the  latest  recipes.  The  children  play  games, 
drive  hoops,  pay  their  pennies  or  half-pennies  for  rides  in  whirligigs, 
or  in  the  goat  carriage,  or  on  the  donkeys  that  the  boys  lead  up  and 
down;  and  they  gaze  with  wide  eyes  and  shrieking  with  laughter  at 
the  puppet  shows  and  the  Punch  and  Judy.  This  is  rest,  good  for 
parents  and  children;  it  is  relaxation,  play,  and  they  are  better  for  it. 
If  we  had  such  customs,  and  even  once  a  week  families  got  this  fresh 
air,  variety  and  relaxation,  we  would  be  a  longer-lived,  and  happier, 
and  healthier,  and  less  nervous  people." 

"But  are  the  French  and  Italians  a  longer-lived  race  than  we 
are?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  No,  they  are  not.  Indeed  among  the  lower  classes,  particularly 
of  their  cities,  the  life  period  seems  much  shorter.  But  the  cause  is 
this:  one  cannot  sustain  life  merely  by  taking  enough  rest,  and  in 
these  countries  we  find  food,  such  as  meat,  butter,  wheat  and  eggs, 
much  dearer  than  with  us,  so  that  those  who  are  in  humble  circum- 
stances are  not  properly  fed.  Then//^/  is  very  dear,  and  the  homes 
of  the  poor  are  not  well  warmed ;  cold,  and  insufficient  nutriment, 
shorten  life." 

"And  you  think  that  farmers,  though  their  work  is  healthful,  need 
rest  and  recreation  ?  "  asked  Violet. 

"  Certainly,  and  they  need  it  more  on  behalf  of  the  wives  and 
daughters,  than  for  the  husbands  and  sons.  Farmers  would  find  that 
they  really  saved  more  money  in  a  year,  taking  it  altogether,  if  they 
would  have  a  week  or  so  at  the  sea-side,  or  mountains,  or  in  the  city, 
for  a  change.  Their  health  would  be  improved ;  work  would  go  more 
easily  for  having  something  pleasant  to  think  of;  their  spirits  would  be 
cheered,  their  children  more  diligent,  polished  and  better  contented. 
Life  would  not  look  like  a  treadmill.  Some  especial  pains  should  be 
taken  to  relieve  the  strain  of  care  on  farmers'  wives,  for  there  is  an 
ominous  percentage  of  them  in  insane  asylums." 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  79 

"  I  think  that  factory  people,  clerks  and  sewing  women,  need 
amusements,  out-of-door  pleasures,  some  cheap,  reasonable,  lawful 
recreations,"  said  Catherine. 

"They  do  indeed,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  These  members  of  society 
often  lead  painful  lives,  and  drop  into  hospitals,  or  early  graves,  from 
want  of  out-of-door  exercise  and  pleasant  change  of  scene  and 
thought  People  who  live  in  the  country  might  do  a  Christian 
charity,  perform  a  human  duty,  by  taking  these  workers  to  board  for 
a  vacation,  either  for  the  help  that  they  could  give,  or  for  a  merely 
nominal  price ;  and  if  they  have  acquaintances  engaged  in  these 
trying  occupations,  they  should  invite  them  to  their  homes  for  occa- 
sional days,  or  weeks,  when  they  can  get  leave  of  absence.  We 
often  feel  very  sorry  to  hear  of  a  premature  death,  or  breaking  down 
of  health,  which  we  might  have  prevented  by  thinking  in  time  to 
make  life  easier  to  those  to  whom  it  is  hard.  People  who  live  in  the 
cities  have  even  a  wider  duty  to  these  workers  among  them.  They 
should  use  part  of  their  liberality  in  providing  agreeable  and  inno- 
cent resorts  for  young  working  and  business  men  of  small  means, 
who  need  some  pleasant  and  proper  place  where  to  spend  their  even- 
ings, and,  for  want  of  such,  go  to  grog-shops,  street-corners,  and  all 
manner  of  dens  and  hells,  where  they  are  devoured,  body  and  soul. 
People  in  the  city  should  take  an  interest  in  these  young  strivers  for 
bread ;  should  give  them  friendship,  invite  them  to  their  homes, 
when  they  can  do  so,  provide  free  lectures,  experiments,  reading- 
rooms,  sociables,  excursions.  It  is  true  in  the  widest  possible  sense 
that  man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone.  For  want  of  the  realization  of 
this  by  good  and  able  people,  thousands  of  promising  youth  are 
yearly  lost.  I  wish  I  knew  how  to  write  a  book  on  this  subject,  for 
it  is  one  on  which  I  feel  very  deeply." 

"  I  think  the  subject  of  Exercise  is  one  closely  connected  with 
this  of  recreation,"  said  Samuel,  "  for  in  much  of  our  sport  we 
exercise." 

"  That  is  very  true,"  replied  the  Stranger,  "  and  exercise  is  one  of 
the  indispensables  of  life,  as  food,  light,  and  air." 


80  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And  yet,"  said  Peter,  "  it  seems  as  if  humanity  can  sometimes 
get  on  almost  without  even  these.  I  have  just  been  reading  the 
story  of  Baron  Trenck,  who  for  nine  years  and  five  months  was  con- 
fined in  a  stone  dungeon,  almost  deprived  of  light,  unvisited  by  fresh 
air,  entirely  without  exercise,  while  he  was  loaded  with  irons,  and 
had  only  bread  and  water  to  eat.  Yet  he  maintained  a  fair  degree 
of  mental  and  bodily  health." 

"And  the  worst  of  it  all  seemed  to  be,"  said  Thomas,  "  that  he  was 
guilty  of  no  crime ;  he  had  merely  fallen  in  love  with  the  sjster  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  For  this  he  was  imprisoned  by  Frederick,  who 
instead  of  being  noted  for  tenderness  and  deference  in  his  family, 
behaved  like  a  brute  very  often ;  hastened  his  brother's  death  by 
his  harshness  ;  never  spoke  to  his  wife,  nor  saw  her  but  once  a  year, 
and  was  an  infidel." 

"  Poor  Trenck! "  said  Samuel,  in  his  slow  way;  "instead  of  abusing 
him  in  that  fashion,  I  should  think  the  emperor  might  have  banished 
him,  or  have  married  the  young  lady  to  somebody  else — or,  why  not 
to  Trenck  himself?" 

They  all  laughed  at  this,  while  Peter  exclaimed  :  "  That  has  ended 
a  hundred  years  ago.  We  must  talk  of  to-day,  and  why  we  need 
exercise,  and  how  much  of  it." 

"  You  need  exercise,"  said  Thomas,  "  to  keep  your  blood  in  active 
circulation,  moving  through  all  your  frame  and  carrying  away  old, 
dead  particles,  and  bringing  new,  strong  building  material  in  its 
place.  Our  bodies  are  continually  being  taken  down  and  built  up." 

"  Bravo !  Thomas,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Let  us  add,  that  exer- 
cise, putting  the  muscles  in  use,  enlarges  and  strengthens  them.  If 
we  do  not  exercise,  our  muscles  are  small  and  flabby,  and  we  have 
little  strength." 

"Then,"  said  Violet,  "I  should  think  that  to  be  strong  and  well- 
proportioned,  to  have  a  really  good  physique,  it  would  be  needful  to 
take  such  exercise  as  would  bring  all  our  muscles  into  play,  and 
not  merely  one  set  of  them.  Or  we  should  vary  our  exercise,  so  as 
in  the  diverse  kinds  to  put  all  our  muscles  into  use." 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  81 

"  That  is  true.  We  see  that  different  occupations  develop  different 
parts  of  our  frame.  For  instance,  a  shoemaker,  from  constant  sitting 
at  his  work,  is  likely  to  have  his  lower  limbs  small  and  weak ;  from 
his  waist  downward  his  muscles  will  be  ill  developed,  while,  as  he 
is  constantly  drawing  threads  with  all  his  strength,  or  hammering 
pegs  or  leather,  the  muscles  from  the  waist  up  will  be  greatly  en- 
larged. His  bending  over  his  work  is  likely  to  make  him  round- 
shouldered.  Now  the  shoemaker,  to  restore  his  muscular  balance, 
should  take  time  for  such  exercise  as  football,  running,  leaping;  and 
when  away  from  his  work  he  should  constantly  and  carefully 
straighten  himself  from  the  lower  portion  of  the  trapesius,  or  about 
half  way  between  the  line  of  the  neck  and  that  of  the  waist.  The 
seamstress  suffers  the  same 'disadvantages  as  the  shoemaker,  as  her 
work  is  performed  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  calls  into  play  the 
muscles  of  the  hand,  shoulder,  and  back  of  the  neck.  She  has  the 
additional  disadvantage  that  her  work  only  very  imperfectly  develops 
thess  muscles;  she  also  should  endeavor  to  get  time  for  walking, 
and  should  vary  her  sewing  with  house-work,  as  sweeping,  dusting, 
ironing,  or  bed-making,  as  all  these  would  strengthen  and  develop 
her  muscles,  and  send  her  blood  more  vigorously  through  the  veins. 
If  sewing-women  would  consider  this  important  point,  they  would 
not  be  so  short-lived ;  would  escape  that  painful  look  of  anaemia, 
and  also  would  no  longer  have  laid  at  their  door  the  charge  that 
they  are  untidy  in  their  homes,  and  that  their  rooms  are  always 
slovenly." 

"  There  is  another  use  in  exercrse,"  said  Catherine :  "  it  changes 
the  air  for  us.  When  we  sit  still  the  air  we  breathe  out  rises  about 
our  heads,  and  soon  is  re-breathed ;  but  when  we  walk,  ride  or  row, 
we  move  constantly  into  fresh  and  pure  air." 

"  How  much  exercise  should  people  take  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"As  much  as  they  need,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  That  seems  an  indefinite  rule ;  about  as  clear  as  giving  a  measure, 
that  it  is  as  big  as  a  piece  of  chalk." 

"  Nevertheless,  it  is  about  the  only  rule  that  can  be  given,"  said 


82  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

the  Stranger,  "because  the  need  of  individuals  is  so  different.  What 
is  ample  exercise  for  one  constitution  is  too  little,  by  half,  for  another. 
We  should  lay  down  certain  principles,  and  then  take  our  exercise 
as  we  need  it.  We  should  always  have  some  open-air  -exercise.  It 
is  not  enough  to  swing,  jump,  dance,  leap,  contort  in  a  gymnasium, 
or  pulling  at  a  rubber  strap  in  a  parlor.  We  should  take  such  exer- 
cise as  will  call  into  action  all  our  muscles,  and  especially  as  will 
counteract  any  one-sided  effect  in  our  ordinary  avocations.  We  should 
not  exercise  to  the  point  of  pain  or  exhaustion  ;  to  reach  a  little 
gentle  weariness  in  exercise  is  healthful,  but  to  have  a  heart  beating 
furiously,  sweat  pouring  from  the  whole  surface  of  the  skin,  muscles 
aching,  blood  throbbing  in  the  head,  is  foolish  to  the  last  extremity. 
So  also  it  is  foolish  to  walk  or  row  or  ride  until  we  are  so  tired  that 
we  want  to  drop  down  and  die,  or  sleep  forever.  We  must  exercise 
within  the  limits  of  our  own  needs  and  abilities.  I  have  heard 
mothers  pathetically  remarking  that  they  '  sent  their  children  to 
dancing-school,  because  the  little  dears  did  not  get  exercise  enough 
without  it.'  If  they  wanted  exercise  for  health,  they  should  put 
upon  their  children  clothing  loosely  fitted,  and  suited  to  the  season, 
and  then  turn  them  out  of  doors  to  amuse  themselves,  with  cheer- 
ful, innocent  companions.  The  exercise  got  in  a  dancing-class, 
when  the  children,  arrayed  in  their  best  clothes,  wearing  thin,  tight 
shoes,  and  painfully  conscious  of  showing  off,  while  in  a  warm 
room  they  posture  and  mince,  and  take  unnatural  positions,  is  likely 
to  be  harmful  rather  than  otherwise.  But  there !  The  world  will 
always  be  full  of  fools !  "  added  the  Stranger  desperately. 

He  did  not  often  say  a  tart  thing,  and  they  forgave  him. 

"What  business  or  profession  is  best  calculated  to  develop  the 
body  healthfully  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  Farming,  undoubtedly.  It  is  carried  on  largely  in  the  open  air ; 
it  calls  into  play  all  the  muscles,  and  is  pursued  among  the  inspiring 
variety  of  natural  scenery." 

"  But  a  great  many  people  weary  of  it,  and  hate  it,"  said  Peter. 

"  Very  many  of  us  fail  to  appreciate  our  advantages  until  we  lose 


PHYSICAL  CULTURE.  83 

them,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Moreover,  many  farmers  commit  the 
error  of  making  their  work  hateful  by  a  drudgery  and  untidiness 
that  could  be  spared.  It  would  be  easy  to  make  of  farming  a  fine 
art :  order,  decency,  taste,  reason  daily  applied  to  the  labors  of  the 
farm,  until  all  these  become  a  habit,  would  make  farming  more  at- 
tractive and  also  more  remunerative." 

"  You  spoke  just  now  of  people  taking  their  exercise  in  a  suitable 
dress,"  said  Catherine.  "  Now  what  is  a  suitable  dress  ?  How  should 
we  dress?" 

"That  subject  is  too  broad  to  be  discussed  as  part  of  another 
theme :  for  instance,  as  part  of  the  theme  of  Physical  Culture.  I 
prefer  to  consider  it  by  itself  at  some  time.  Now  I  shall  only  say 
that  dressing  properly  is  a  large  element  in  physical  culture.  You 
cannot  develop  your  body  to  its  best  estate,  if  by  your  way  of 
dressing  you  compress  the  vital  organs,  restrain  the  play  of  the 
muscles,  check  the  respiration  of  the  system,  or  subject  yourselves  to 
an  untimely  chill,  or  a  too  low  temperature.  Cold  is  a  part  of  death. 
People  do  not  dress  warmly  enough:  sometimes  it  .is  from  bravado 
to  show  how  tough  they  are;  sometimes  it  is  from  pride  to  appear 
slender;  sometimes  it  is  from  a  whim  that  they  do  not  like  the  feeling 
of  flannel ;  sometimes  it  is  from  a  thoughtless  concession  to  fashion, 
which,  as  Catherine  well  observed,  is  not  given  to  consulting  with 
Common-sense,  and  ordains  a  bare  throat,  bane  wrists,  or  thinly-clad 
feet,  or  shoes  defying  all  reasonable  principles  in  shape  and  texture. 
Thus  we  go  astray,  and  court  death,  and  premature  old  age,  erring 
in  a  matter  so  entirely  under  our  control  as  is  dress." 

"  We  cannot  all  be  farmers,"  quoth  Samuel,  who  as  usual  had 
been  deliberately  pursuing  his  thought,  and  presented  it  when  he 
was  ready,  but  perchance  a  little  late.  "What  do  you  say  of  the 
other  kinds  of  labor  in  which  men  must  engage,  which  give  them 
fewer  opportunities  of  physical  culture  ?  " 

"They  must  consider  the  especial  disadvantages  of  their  occupa- 
tions, and  remedy  them.  The  student  might  use  his  leisure  hours 
in  the  avocations  of  the  farm  or  garden :  for  agriculture,  as  the 


84  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

earliest,  is  the  safest,  most  healthful,  and  most  useful  business  of 
man.  Not  only  would  the  student  here  gain  good  blood,  good 
muscle,  good  carriage  of  himself,  but  he  would  be  always  more  of  a 
man  for  knowing  how  to  bring  his  dinner  out  of  the  ground,  and  he 
would  be  more  in  sympathy  with  his  fellows.  If  people  whose  busi- 
ness is  sedentary  would  but  use  part  of  their  time  in  the  field,  the 
carpenter  shop,  the  smith's  shop,  they  would  be  safer,  and  more  use- 
ful, and  more  worthy  in  every  way.  '  Teach  thy  son  a  trade  '  is  the 
command  of  the  Rabbis.  A  manual  employment  in  our  possession 
is  of  the  highest  value  to  every  one,  no  matter  how  rich  he  is,  or 
how  learned  he  aspires  to  be." 

"And  on  the  other  hand,"  said  Thomas,  "the  farmer  would  do 
well  to  spend  his  evenings  and  his  winter  leisure,  in  reading  and 
study.  If  he  is  abreast  with  the  topics  of  the  day  he  will  be  a  better 
farmer,  a  more  safe  adviser,  a  more  useful  citizen.  If  he  understands 
his  physical  constitution  he  will  be  healthier,  live  longer,  and  spend 
less  on  drugs  and  doctors.  If  he  knows  a  little  of  common  law,  he 
will  be  better  able  to  protect  himself,  and  less  liable  to  fall  into  error. 
If  he  cultivates  his  own  mind  he  can  more  wisely  direct  the  educa- 
tion of  his  family,  and  turn  to  the  best  account  the  abilities  of  his 
children." 

"  So,  also,"  added  John  Frederick,  "  the  mechanic  would  do  well 
to  spend  his  evenings  in  libraries,  or  in  pursuing  some  branch  of 
study  for  which  he  has  an  aptitude.  It  is  by  such  a  course  that  me- 
chanics have  become  inventors,  or  otherwise  made  the  best  of  them- 
selves." 

"The  sun  is  setting,  and  we  must  go  home,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"Not  until  you  tell  us  one  thing  more,"  cried  Robert.  "I  see  a 
vast  difference  in  the  way  in  which  people  carry  themselves.  A 
shuffling  gait,  heads  downwards,  chins  thrust  out,  arms  swinging, 
backs  bent;  a  great  many  people  look  absurdly  when  there  is  not 
the  least  need  for  it.  Tell  us  how  to  stand,  sit,  and  walk ! " 

"The  first  rule  will  be:  Keep  your  chins  in.  If  the  chin  is  thrust 
out  the  rest  of  the  body  will  also  be  held  badly.  Let  your  chin  be 


PHYSICAL   CULTURE.  85 

in,  your  shoulders  on  a  true  line  with  your  hips.  Beware  of  tipping 
back  at  the  waist  line,  and  drooping  the  shoulders  forward.  Turn 
your  toes  out,  and  let  the  arms  fall  easily  at  the  side,  not  straight 
and  stiff  as  rods  ;  not  rowing  to  and  fro,  as  to  propel  you  ;  not  crossed 
tightly  on  the  chest,  but  as  if  you  had  clasped  your  hands  as  they 
hung  down,  then  let  them  drop,  and  forgot  all  about  them.  Once 
have  a  habit  of  holding  the  chin,  shoulders,  hips,  arms,  and  feet  well, 
and  then  don't  think  about  it,  for  self -consciousness  destroys  grace. 
Consider,  too,  that  this  carrying  ourselves  well  is  not  merely  for 
beauty,  though  beauty  is  worth  caring  for,  but  an  erect,  fine  carriage 
is  important  to  proper  physical  culture,  and  conduces  C4  health  and 
longevity." 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

LIVING   FOR  AN   OBJECT. 

rUR  last  discussion,"  said  Robert,  "  indeed  the  last 
two,  were  occupied  entirely  with  physical  facts  and 
necessities.  Let  us  now  consider  something  that 
lies  in  the  domain  of  mind.  I  wish  to  talk  about 
having  an  Object  in  Life." 
"  When  I  talk  with  you,  young  people,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  I  feel 
as  if  I  never  began  at  the  beginning.  All  these  questions  of  im- 
portance in  your  lives  are,  at  the  foundation,  in  the  hands  of  your 
parents.  They  must  practically  open  them  all  for  you.  And  when  I 
talk  to  you,  I  seem  to  plunge  into  the  middle  of  matters,  as,  when 
you  are  able  to  in  any  measure  judge,  act,  or  intend,  for  yourselves, 
your  life  is  well  on  from  its  opening,  and  all  your  affairs  are  begun. 
Some  of  you  will  be  well  started,  and  need  only  move  along  in  those* 
fair  lines  of  thought  and  practice  where  your  parents  have  opened 
a  way  for  you.  Others  will  have  adverse  influences,  and  errors 
of  judgment,  to  combat." 

"  We  can  but  make  the  best  of  ourselves,  as  we  find  ourselves," 
said  Violet,  cheerfully. 

"It  seems  as  if  in  discussing  the  having  an  object  in  life  you  might 
begin  at  the  beginning,  if  ever  you  are  to  do  so,  for  the  choice  and 
pursuit  of  an  object  must  lie  with  ourselves,"  said  Peter. 

"Indeed  no,"  said  the  Stranger,  sighing;  "your  parents  should 
have  been  deeply  considering  your  characteristics,  discerning  your 
abilities,  and  moulding  you  toward  the  proper  end  of  your  ex- 
istence." 

(86) 


LIVING  FOR   AN  OBJECT.  87 

The  deacon  had  somehow  drifted  in  among  the  young  people,  as 
he  had  several  boys  and  girls  at  the  Bureau  of  Information ;  and  he 
groaned  and  said : 

"Ah,  sir,  how  tremendous  and  unending  are  a  parent's  responsi- 
bilities, and  how  little  we  realize  them!" 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  they  are  immense  as  the 
worth  of  a  soul,  unending  as  that  soul's  immortality." 

"  Why  should  we  have  an  object  in  life  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  Because,  as  highly  endowed  beings,  made  by  a  wise  Creator,  we 
cannot  have  been  aimlessly  formed,  but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  he  had  some  end  in  view  in  our  creation.  This  end  we  are 
bound  to  discover  and  pursue.  We  ought,  as  intellectual  and  spir- 
itual natures,  to  exhibit  what  the  French  call  the  ratson  d'etre,  or 
reason  of  being.  The  plant  grows  right  on  toward  flower  and  fruit ; 
the  lower  orders  of  animals  accomplish  that  for  which  they  were  cre- 
ated ;  man  should  do  as  much  to  vindicate  his  place  in  the  universe. 
But  man  cannot  accomplish  his  destiny  by  merely  standing  still,  and 
indifferently  letting  affairs  drift  on;  he  must  know  whither  he  is  tend- 
ing, and  the  proper  path  by  which  to  reach  his  goal." 

"I  do  not  think,"  said  Catherine,  "that  most  people  feel  this." 

"The  Spectator"  replied  the  Stranger,  "makes  this  remark:  'If  we 
look  at  the  bulk  of  our  species,  they  are  such  as  are  not  likely  to  be 
remembered  a  moment  after  their  disappearance.  They  leave  behind 
them  no  traces  of  their  existence,  but  are  forgotten,  as  though  they 
had  never  been.'  Now  that  is  a  heavy  verdict  against  dwellers  in  a 
civilized  land." 

"  I  read  this  in  a  French  author,"  said  Violet :  " '  I  have  seen  irom 
my  window  two  erect  creatures,  both  of  them  of  a  noble  countenance, 
and  endowed  with  reason.  These  two  intellectual  beings  are  em- 
ployed from  morning  to  night  in  rubbing  together  two  smooth  stones 
— that  is,  in  common  phrase,  polishing  marble.' " 

"  Possibly,"  replied  the  Stranger,  "  our  French  author,  in  his 
cynicism,  may  have  taken  but  shallow  views  of  what  he  saw.  If  the 
men  polished  the  marble  well,  and  then  it  was  wrought  into  forms 


88  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

of  use  and  beauty,  which  inspired  men  with  noble  thoughts,  culti- 
vated their  minds,  or,  by  commemorating  lofty  deeds,  roused  them 
to  emulation  of  virtue;  and  if  the  marble-workers  used  their  wages 
in  making  their  homes  honest  and  comfortable,  and  in  rearing  chil- 
dren who  should  be  active  and  virtuous  citizens,  then  the  work  of 
marble-polishing  was  no  mean  task,  unworthy  of  'erect  form,'  'noble 
face,'  or  '  intellectual  beings.'  Manual  labor  is  not  to  be  despised ; 
it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  most  of  human  superstructures,  although 
these,  as  they  climb  toward  intellectual  regions,  may  begin  to  seem 
entirely  ethereal.  The  tilling  of  the  soil,  and  humble  handicrafts, 
underlie  all  our  achievements.  There  was  once  a  Carpenter,  making 
ox-yokes,  in  Nazareth  of  Galilee." 

"  Then  an  object  in  life  may  lie  anywhere,  between  working  a 
piece  of  ground,  or  laying  up  a  solid  wall,  and  the  highest  flights 
of  a  Milton,  a  Newton,  or  a  Galileo,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  Exactly.  The  range  is  wide ;  the  affair  of  importance  is  to  find 
our  place  in  it." 

"  Let  us  hear,  then,  whatever  we  can  about  it,"  said  Peter;  "for  I, 
for  one,  want  to  be  something  better  than  a  paper  boat  going  down 
under  the  stream  of  life  without  making  so  much  as  a  ripple." 

"  Yes,"  added  Catherine,  "  you  mentioned  the  Spectator.  I  was 
reading  a  paper  in  it  yesterday,  the  'Journal  of  Clarinda.'  She  kept 
a  journal  for  five  days,  and  says:  '  Until  I  read  your  paper  I  never 
thought  of  considering  whether  I  spent  my  time  well  or  ill.  I  scarce 
find  an  action  in  five  days  that  I  can  approve  of,  except  embroidering 
on  that  violet  leaf,  which  I  am  resolved  to  finish  the  first  Hay  that  I 
have  leisure.  As  for  Mr.  Froth  and  my  dog  Venny,  I  did  not  know 
that  they  took  up  so  much  of  my  time  and  thought,  as  I  find  they 
do,  in  my  journal.'  On  this  Mr.  Addison  says,  dryly:  '  I  would  have 
Clarinda  consider  what  a  pretty  figure  she  would  make  among  pos- 
terity, if  the  history  of  her  whole  life  were  published,  as  these  five 
days  of  it.'  "  . 

"  But  I  don't  think  women  are  like  that  now,"  said  Samuel.  "  My 
mother  attends  to  her  family,  superintends  the  housework  and  the 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  89 

dairy,  does  a  deal  of  our  sewing,  taught  us  all  until  we  were  eight 
years  old,  visits  the  sick,  does  much  work  for  the  poor,  is  the  leader 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and  does,  besides,  more  things 
than  I  can  tell  you." 

"  So  does  mine,"  said  Robert. 

"  That's  right,  boys,"  said  the  deacon. 

"  I  should  hope  there  were  but  few  Clarindas,"  said  the  Stranger ; 
"but  I  fear  there  are  some;  there  will  be  less  if  we  can  persuade 
every  young  person  to  consider  for  what  end  they  were  made,  what 
they  are  capable  of  doing,  and,  finding  an  object  in  their  lives,  pursue 
it  steadily." 

"  How  shall  we  set  about  it?  "  queried  Samuel. 

"  How  early  should  we  begin  to  seek  for  an  object  ? "  asked 
Violet. 

"And  what  advantage  will  having  it  be  to  us  ?  "  said  Thomas. 

"  I  must  answer  your  questions  in  their  logical  order,"  said  the 
Stranger,  smiling.  "  Let  us  begin  at  the  beginning,  as  nearly  as 
possible.  From  the  dawn  of  reason,  every  parent  should  impress 
upon  his  children  that  they  were  made  for  some  end.  That,  as  human 
beings,  they  have  a  duty  to  God,  and  this  duty  is  largely  performed 
in  service  toward  men.  This  idea  of  doing  something,  of  filling 
some  particular  niche,  and  having  some  individual  usefulness,  once 
impressed  in  early  life,  the  next  step  will  be  to  discern,  as  far  as 
possible,  what  is  our  especial  place,  and  how  we  shall  arrive  at  it, 
and  fill  it.  Almost  every  child  shows  tastes  or  abilities  for  some 
especial  'line  of  life.  One  child  exhibits  the  instincts  of  a  scholar; 
and  among  those  who  have  this  preference  are  varied  talents  for 
languages,  mathematics,  or  natural  sciences.  The  nervous  constitu- 
tion of  one  should  preclude  an  idea  of  selecting  teaching  as  his 
profession,  while  his  restlessness  inclines  him  to  travel,  discovery,  or 
geographical  investigation.  Some  children  are  clearly  mechanical 
in  their  tastes;  others  are  fond  of  raising  and  tending  animals;  others 
still  show  an  aptness  for  agriculture.  The  examination  of  a  young 
person's  tastes  and  abilities  should  proceed  without  prejudice;  pride 


90  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

often  stands  in  the  way  of  arriving  at  the  real  work  for  which  one  is 
designed  by  nature.  If  a  child  learns  the  multiplication  table,  or  its 
spelling  lesson  with  some  quickness,  the  parents  are  too  often  ready 
to  discern  in  it  the  embryo  La  Place,  or  Shakespeare,  and,  conclud- 
ing that  here  is  a  scholar,  drive  the  poor  victim  on  in  a  way  wherein 
it  was  never  meant  to  go.  Another  form  of  parental  pride  despises 
common  talents  in  the  child,  and  determines  to  make  of  the  natural 
mechanic  a  lawyer  or  preacher.  I  know  a  boy  who  had  a  decided 
taste  for  cabinet-maker's  work;  he  handled  a  tool  well  instinctively; 
he  would  have  made  a  successful  man  in  the  trade  of  his  own  pref- 
erence, but  his  doting  mother  was  resolved  to  make  of  him  a  doctor; 
she  made  instead,  an  entire  failure ;  her  son  was  literally  good  for 
nothing  in  life." 

"  But  one  can  hardly  judge  of  what  children  ought  to  be,  or 
should  be,"  observed  Catherine,  "  they  are  so  changeable,  and  the 
taste  they  declare  one  day  alters  the  next.  I  had  a  cousin  who, 
when  he  was  a  small  boy,  declared  that  when  he  grew  up  he  would 
first  be  a  policeman,  to  wear  a  star  and  carry  a  club ;  after  that  he 
meant  to  keep  a  confectionery  store,  to  have,  for  once,  all  the  candy 
he  wanted ;  the  third  move  was  to  become  a  circus  rider,  to  be  able 
to  go  to  the  circus,  which  his  parents  never  allowed  him  to  visit; 
and  after  all  this,  he  meant  to  settle  down  into  a  preacher,  to  please 
his  mother." 

"And  which  did  he  become  ?  "  cried  Violet. 

"  None  of  them.     He  made  a  very  respectable  doctor." 

"  It  is  true  that  children  have  all  these  changes ;  it  is  said 

"  'A  boy's  will  is  the  wind's  will, 
And  the  thought  of  youth  is  a  long,  long  thought; ' 

and  yet  careful  study  of  every  character,  with  as  careful  a  study  of 
physical  characteristics,  will  reveal  predominant  tastes  and  ideas 
that  should  be  followed  up.  In  the  Choice  of  an  Object  in  life,  more 
specific  than  the  universal  object  of  doing  the  best  that  we  may  for 
ourselves  and  our  fellows,  we  must  consider  more  than  our  pet 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  91 

inclinations.  A  boy  may  admire  oratory ;  he  may  long  to  pursue 
a  profession  which  will  include  public  speaking.  But  if  he  has  an 
incurably  poor  voice,  a  narrow  chest  and  feeble  lungs,  he  should 
see  that  there  must  be  some  other  line  of  life  designed  for  him 
than  this  darling  of  his  fancy  from  which  he  is  effectually  de- 
barred." 

"  Demosthenes,"  cried  Thomas,  "  overcame  the  greatest  physical 
obstacles.  Feeble  in  health,  robbed  of  his  property,  stammering  in 
tongue,  his  gestures  frightfully  uncouth,  and  his  breathing  rough 
and  hurried,  he  was  a  butt  of  ridicule.  He  conquered  all  these 
disadvantages,  and  became  a  finished  orator." 

"All  this  is  true,"  said  the  Stranger,  "and  where  the  soul  of  Demos- 
thenes is  present,  obstacles,  no  matter  how  great,  will  be  conquered. 
But  mere  taste  will  not  make  a  Demosthenes ;  there  must  be  an 
overwhelming  passion  for  oratory,  where  the  external  gifts  are  so 
few.  In  fancying  themselves  Demosthenes,  how  many  have  failed 
to  become  anything?  When  you  hear  people  say,  'If  such  and  such 
things  had  not  interfered  I  should  have  been  a  great  author,  or 
poet,  or  musician,'  be  sure  they  would  in  these  things  have  stood 
below  mediocrity,  if  nothing  had  prevented  these  pursuits  for  which 
they  boast  ability.  For  as  murder  will  out,  so  genius  will  out,  and 
genius  laughs  at  obstacles." 

"  Then  you  do  not  believe  with  Grey: 

"  '  Some  mute,  inglorious  Milton  here  may  rest, 

Some  Cromwell,  guiltless  of  Ms  country's  blood,'  " 

said  John  Frederick. 

"As  to  the  Milton,  I  disagree  entirely,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  if  he 
were  the  real  master  poet  he  would  sing — but  as  to  the  Cromwell — 
wholly  discountenancing  the  hint  that  he  was  guilty  of  his  country's 
blood,  for  I  hold  him  a  king  among  men — it  required  both  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  time  and  his  own  innate  genius  to  make  him  what 
he  was." 

"  Now,  as  far  as  I  can  understand  you,  our  first  step  is  to  feel  that 


92  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

there  must  be  in  life  something  for  us  to  do — that  we  have  our 
own  particular  work ;  and  then  the  next  thing  will  be  to  search  out 
what  we  are  fittest  for,  and  pursue  that,"  thus  Peter  the  shrewd. 

"  You  must  add  to  this,"  said  the  deacon,  "  that  the  object  set 
before  you  shall  be  worth  pursuing.  The  end  of  our  lives  must  be 
worthy,  or  no  amount  of  fitness  or  perseverance  can  make  its  pur- 
suit respectable.  I  shall  quote  you  a  good  passage  on  this  point : 
'  Enterprises  of  great  pith  and  moment  command  our  admiration, 
sympathy  and  emulation,  with  the  varied  force  which  the  quality  of 
their  motives  and  objects  deserves.  The  agility  and  courage  of  a 
rope-dancer,  on  his  perilous  balance,  do  not  affect  us  in  the  same 
way  as  the  generous  daring  displayed  by  a  fireman  in  the  rescue  of 
a  child  from  a  burning,  house.  There  is  natural  nobleness  in  any- 
body to  feel  the  difference  between  a  hard  day's  journey  on  an  errand 
of  benevolence,  and  the  feat  of  walking  a  hundred  successive  hours 
on  a  wager.' " 

"And  as  to  Peter's  second  point,"  said  their  friend,  "  that  we  must 
find  out  our  own  part  in  life,  and  not  be  trying  to  fill  some  other  per- 
son's position,  let  me  say,  that  nothing  shows  a  man  so  wise,  nothing- 
more  clearly  demonstrates  his  claim  to  the  possession  of  sound  judg- 
ment, than  his  recognition  of  the  limits  of  his  own  capacity.  Outside 
the  boundary  line  of  our  abilities  we  had  better  not  waste  our  strength. 
Let  us  know  what  we  can  do,  and  also  what  we  cannot  do.  In  trying  to 
find  out  what  we  can  do,  we  should  examine  those  objects  or  methods 
of  work  for  which  we  have  the  strongest  proclivities,  and  ascertain 
if  we  are  mentally  and  physically  fitted  to  pursue  them.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  our  lives  must  also  be  taken  into  consideration.  A 
young  man  may  yearn  toward  the  adventurous  exploring  life  of  a 
Kane  or  a  Livingstone.  But  suppose  that  he  is  the  only  son  of  a 
widowed  mother,  then  he  needs  feel  that  God  has  given  him  a  super- 
eminent  duty,  which,  while  it  debars  him  from  this  path  of  his  choice, 
will  not  hinder  him  from  finding  some  other  work  in  which  he  may 
be  efficient,  while  he  fulfils  the  whole  filial  duty.  You  remember 
Washington,  enthusiastic  to  go  to  sea,  and  on  the  very  eve  of  de- 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  93 

parture,  yielded  his  wishes  to  the  silent  tears  of  his  mother.  He 
remained  at  home  to  save  his  country,  and  send  down  to  posterity 
as  a  special  treasure  one  of  those  '  few  immortal  names,  that  are  not 
doomed  to  die.'  In  the  choice  of  an  object  in  life  we  must  not  be 
guided  by  an  immoderate  ambition.  Addison  well  says :  '  The 
utmost  we  can  hope  for  in  this  life  is  contentment;  if  we  aim  any 
higher  we  shall  meet  with  nothing  but  grief  and  disappointment.  A 
man  should  direct  all  his  studies  and  endeavors  at  making  himself 
easy  now,  and  happy  hereafter.'  You  must  understand  that  Addison 
here  takes  for  granted  the  fact,  that  this  present  ease  and  future 
happiness  cannot  be  ours  unless  we  are  active  and  useful.  And  when 
we  work  toward  an  object  of  our  life,  that  object  should  not  be  our 
aggrandizement,  for  this  has  the  accompaniment  of  a  gnawing  am- 
bition and  dissatisfaction  in  all  our  course ;  disappointment  when  we 
reach  the  goal  we  had  in  view,  and  find  some  brighter  end  forever 
flying  and  fading  before  us ;  and  also,  the  aggrandizement  of  one 
man  is  usually  at  the  expense  of  the  loss  of  many  of  his  fellows. 
Napoleon  and  Caesar  and  Alexander  climbed  to  their  heights  over 
hecatombs  of  their  human  brethren." 

"  I  have  read,"  said  Catherine,  "that  if  you  grasp  for  a  coat  of  gold, 
you  are  sure  to  gain  at  least  a  sleeve.  Do  you  believe  we  get  what 
we  seek  ?  " 

"  I  believe,"  replied  the  Stranger,  "  that  a  man  usually  gets  in  this 
world  whatever  he  most  strongly  desires  and  steadily  pursues.  I 
mean  that  which  he  desires,  not  fitfully  and  lazily,  for  his  amuse- 
ment, but  firmly  resolves  to  have  by  fitting  himself  to  command  it. 
This  stern  resolution  is  the  element  of  victory." 

"This  includes,"  said-  John  Frederick,  "a  steadiness  of  purpose. 
The  power  of  living  for  the  future,  and  every  day  working  toward  one 
set  end." 

"Yes;  variableness  secures  nothing.  When  we  change  our  minds 
and  objects,  we  lose  the  steps  already  trod.  We  must  not  despise 
trifles  in  our  life  work,  but  be  exact  in  little  things.  One  nail 
well  driven  is  worth  several  hastily  and  crookedly  knocked  in." 


94  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"I'm  afraid,"  said  Samuel,  "that  some  of  us  will  spend  too  much 
time  in  looking  around  to  see  what  we  can  do,  or  ought  to  do,  or 
want  to  do." 

"  Not  at  all.  There  are  certain  things  which  belong  equally  to 
every  path  in  life.  First,  a  sound  moral  nature :  whatever  you  aim 
at  as  your  ultimate  end,  this  primarily  you  must  have,  a  heart  honest, 
pure,  generous.  The  moral  law  must  be  well  bedded  in  your  hearts, 
if  they  are  to  be  strong  enough  to  maintain  any  weight  of  glory. 
The  soil  of  Holland  is,  as  you  know,  a  shaking  ooze.  When  this  is 
to  be  made  to  uphold  any  lofty  superstructure,  piles  must  be  driven 
in  deeply.  When  the  Stadt  Haus,  of  Amsterdam,  was  built,  it  was 
placed  on  13,659  piles,  sunk  fifty  feet  deep,  through  mud  and  ooze. 
On  this  arose  a  noble  edifice.  Now,  our  natural  hearts  are  poor 
yielding  stuff,  and  before  they  can  be  made  to  sustain  anything 
worthy,  they  must  have  well  driven  down  into  them  the  ten 
precepts  of  the  Moral  Law.  After  that  they  will  upbear  any- 
thing, standing,  if  need  be,  like  Atlas,  with  the  world  on  his 
shoulders." 

"  You  do  not  believe  very  much  in  unassisted  human  nature,  do 
you  ?  "  said  Violet.  "  I  don't,  either.  I've  seen  quite  enough  of 
myself  and  other  people  to  feel  little  security  without  those  ten 
moral  piles.  The  other  day  a  tidy-looking  woman  came  to  me  for 
help,  saying  that  she  had  been  burned  out  in  our  King  street  fire, 
and  had  lost  all  her  clothing.  I  gave  her  a  good  many  things,  and 
lent  her  a  basket  to  carry  them  in,  on  the  promise  that  she  would 
return  it  at  once.  She  did  not  bring  back  the  basket,  and  I  found 
she  had  not  been  burned  out.  Now  idleness,  lying,  ingratitude  and 
theft  were  the  natural  products  of  her  heart." 

"  Poverty,"  said  Robert,  "  is  not  a  nurse  of  noble  souls,  the  poets 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  It  needs  a  hot  fight  to  keep  down 
vice  in  the  midst  of  poverty.  Temptations  are  many,  the  rewards  of 
virtue  seem  few,  and  unless  there  is  a  rare  deal  of  piety  and  moral 
law,  penury  sinks  a  man  morally." 

"  Yes,"  said  Thomas,  "  I  believe,  sentimentalists  saying  what  they 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  95 

please,  that  human  nature  unhelped,  is  first-rate  stuff  whereof  to 
make — demons." 

"  We  are  wandering  from  our  theme,"  said  Catherine.  "  We  were 
hearing  of  certain  things  that  were  primary  to  any  good  aim  in  life ; 
the  first  was  moral  culture." 

"  Then  you  may  add  physical  culture.  Get  as  strong  a  house  for 
your  soul  as  you  can.  Have  a  sound  body  to  tabernacle  your  sound 
mind.  True,  many  have  been  great  whose  frames  were  the  feeblest, 
but  there  is  no  doubting  the  advantages  of  a  sound  body;  so  get  that 
if  you  can.  Strong  eyes,  firm  muscles,  a  good  digestion,  healthful 
blood,  these  will  help  you  right  royally  in  attaining  any  object  which 
you  set  before  you." 

"  We  ought  to  understand  something  of  physical  culture,  after  all 
your  instruction,"  said  Violet.  "And  what  next  is  needful  for  a 
beginning?  " 

"A  certain  amount  of  education.     Say  the  alphabet." 

"  Why  any  five-year  old  has  that,"  cried  Robert. 

"  I  mean  the  alphabet  largely  understood,  as  in  all  its  English 
combinations,  so  that  you  will  know  how  to  read  fluently  any  book 
in  your  own  tongue.  Then,  as  written,  so  that  you  can  write  clearly 
and  spell  correctly  any  document  which  may  be  needful.  To  this 
you  must  add  a  certain  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  that  you  may  keep 
accounts  and  make  calculations.  Every  citizen  should  have  a  gen- 
eral knowledge  of  his  own  country's  history  and  constitution,  so  that 
he  .may  understand  the  nation's  spirit  and  politics,  and  comprehend 
his  newspaper,  which  he  should  read  daily,  if  he  is  to  keep  up  with 
the  current  of  affairs.  Then,  again,  one  must  have  some  knowledge 
of  geography,  or  he  can  take  very  little  satisfaction  in  reading;  for 
travels,  biographies,  histories,  and  stories  even,  would  be  poorly 
comprehended  if  he  had  never  studied  geography.  Try  and  get  at 
least  such  an  idea  of  geography  that  you  can  picture  to  your  mind 
all  the  maps  in  your  atlas,  and  have  clearly  before  you  the  relative 
position,  the  outline  and  extent,  of  the  countries  of  the  world,  and 
know  the  position  and  size  of  the  principal  rivers,  mountain  ranges 


96  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

and  cities.  No  matter  what  occupation  you  may  choose,  whether 
manual  labor  or  a  profession,  whether  agriculture  cr  clerking,  you 
must  read  if  you  would  be  successful.  Knowledge  is  power,  and 
you  must  have  in  your  hand  the  means  of  obtaining  the  knowledge 
which  belongs  to  your  several  pursuits." 

"  I  think,  then,  we  have  before  us  quite  enough  to  do  in  perform- 
ing the  work  that  lies  at  the  beginning  of  all  life-paths;  and  by  the 
time  that  is  well  done  I  suppose  we  shall  see  whither  our  individual 
paths  are  branching  out,"  said  Thomas. 

"  That  is  exactly  what  I  want  you  to  realize :  be  fit  for  something, 
and  that  something  will  find  you.  Every  man  is,  in  a  great  measure, 
his  own  handiwork,  and  I  should  wish  each  one  of  you  to  be  a 
specimen  of  humanity,  '  whereof  the  workman  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed.'  If  you  make  nothing  of  your  lives,  you  will  be  your- 
selves to  blame  for  it,  and  it  will  be  of  no  use  to  sit  grumbling  that 
you  would  have  done  great  things  if  somebody  had  not  hindered 
you,  or  if  some  other  body  had  not  stood  in  your  way.  It  is  also 
well  to  feel  that  it  is  better  to  fill  our  own  place  thoroughly,  to  be 
complete  in  some  humble  thing,  than  it  is  to  half  fill  some  other  per- 
son's place,  or  to  be  full  of  flaws  and  shortcomings  in  some  lofty 
station.  An  honest,  competent  boat-builder,  or  blacksmith,  or  brick- 
layer, is  worth  ten  times  as  much  as  an  ignorant  physician,  or  an  in- 
competent judge.  There  is  a  wide  philosophy  in  two  simple  lines: 

"'  Desirous  less  to  serve  thee  much 
Than  please  thee  perfectly.' 

David  was  a  faithful  shepherd  before  he  was  a  mighty  king,  and  his 
valiant  defence  of  his  flock  foreshadowed  his  valiant  defence  of  his 
people.  If  the  sheep  of  Jesse  had  been  left  to  lions  and  bears,  Israel 
would  have  been  left  to  the  Philistines.  '  Better  is  a  poor  and  wise 
child  than  an  old  and  foolish  king.'  " 

"And  yet,  the  earlier  that  we  discover  the  business  which  we 
shall  pursue  in  life,  I  suppose  the  better  it  will  be  for  us,"  suggested 
John  Frederick. 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  97 

"Certainly,  for  there  will  be  less  danger  of  aimless  efforts;  all  our 
blows  can  be  made  to  tell  on  the  exact  nail  which  we  intend  to  drive." 

"  Do  you  not  think,  then,"  said  Peter,  "  that,  with  our  minds  set 
so  entirely  on  one  object,  we  should  be  ' one-idead'  people,  in  danger 
of  a  hobby,  and  lacking  in  sympathy  or  intellectual  courtesy  to 
others?  There  are  some  people  who  believe  that  what  they  know 
is  the  only  thing  worth  knowing;  for  their  range  of  knowledge  is  so 
narrow  that  they  are  incapable  of  judging;  they  are  mentally  short- 
sighted." 

"  But,  Peter,"  said  Violet,  "  it  has  been  men  of  one  idea,  men  who 
were  intent  upon  one  thing,  enthusiasts,  hobby-riders,  that  have 
moved  the  world." 

"  They  moved  the  world  in  virtue  of  their  thoroughness  and 
earnestness,  in  what  they  undertook.  But  all  men  who  have  done 
great  things,  have  had  wide  powers,  and  were  able  to  appreciate  the 
work  and  desires  of  other  men,"  said  Thomas. 

"There  is  danger  in  one-sided  development,"  said  the  Stranger; 
"  but  you  must  consider  that  there  are  few  of  us  whose  powers  are  so 
ample  that  we  can  be  adepts  in  many  arts.  Not  often  has  the  world 
seen  a  Michael  Angelo,  who  was  at  once  poet,  painter,  sculptor, 
architect  and  musician.  Mingling  with  our  fellow-men,  reading 
good  general  literature,  the  papers  and  journals  of  the  day,  will  give 
us  respect  for,  interest  in,  and  some  knowledge  of  what  other  people 
are  doing.  At  the  same  time  we  could  be  making  our  efforts  and 
studies  tell  on  our  own  business.  For  instance,  if  a  lad  has  early 
resolved  to  be  a  physician,  he  will  be  spending  the  time  he  has  for 
general  study  and  observation  not  on  engineering  and  bridge-build- 
ing, but  in  examining  plants,  pursuing  chemistry,  studying  botany, 
and  will  direct  his  reading  to  papers  of  interest  bearing  on  his  future 
profession.  The  lad  who  intends  to  follow  farming  can  carefully 
observe  the  methods  of  the  best  practical  farmers.  He  can  question 
those  who  work  as  to  their  reasons  for  what  they  do;  he  can  read 
agricultural  journals,  books  on  agriculture,  and  he  can  make  his  own 
experiments  and  note  their  results.  As  the  embryo  physician  will 
7 


98  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

have  his  attention  primarily  directed  toward  the  cases  of  disease, 
manner  of  treatment,  style  of  nursing,  and  all  that  concerns  sickness 
and  health,  in  his  neighborhood,  so  the  inchoate  farmer  will,  in  prac- 
tice and  observation,  be  laying  up  a  fine  stock  of  facts  that  shall  tell 
on  all  his  manhood,  and  be  almost  sure  to  make  him  successful  in 
his  vocation." 

"  I  wish,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  you  would  mention  to  us  some  of 
the  trades  and  professions  that  are  open  to  us,  and  show  us  how  to 
begin  their  pursuit." 

"  For  women  as  well  as  for  men,"  cried  Laura. 

"  Such  a  subject  is  too  wide  to  be  entered  upon  at  this  time,"  said 
their  friend.  "  I  propose  to  discuss  those  themes  not  merely  once 
or  twice,  but  on  several  occasions.  At  present  we  are  laying  the 
foundation  for  doing  something.  I  want  so  to  warn  and  instruct  you 
that  you  will  not  be  obliged  to  say  like  Amasis :  '  In  Egypt  I  learned 
all  that  which  would  bring  me  honor  from  men,  and  almost  nothing 
that  would  be  useful  to  myself.' " 

"  Your  quoting  Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre,"  said  Samuel,  "  reminds 
me  of  another  observation  of  his,  much  like  one  that  you  yourself 
made :  "  God  has  put  in  our  reach  that  which  is  most  useful  and  is 
more  sublime  than  talent — virtue.  Let  us  cultivate  this  first  of  all.'" 

"  Yes,  this  cultivation  of  virtue  must  be  the  foundation  of  whatever 
we  do.  If  we  omit  that,  we  build  the  fabric  of  our  lives  on  '  sinking 
sand.'  Let  me  earnestly  warn  you  to  watch  yourselves,  and  take 
heed  to  your  ways.  The  world  is  very  full  of  temptations — how  full 
you  cannot  conceive  in  the  safe  shelter  of  your  homes.  Well  has 
it  been  said:  '  You  know  with  what  a  world  of  difficulty  families  rear 
up  men,  and  society  corrupts  them — in  an  hour.'" 

"  I  think  most  young  people  start  out  in  life  believing  that  they 
can  do  anything,  everything ;  but  in  a  few  years  I  have  seen  people 
who  had  been  full  of  courage  become  disappointed  and  despairing; 
this  has  nearly  discouraged  me,"  said  Robert.  "  Life  looks  like  a 
lottery,  or  a  penny  toss-up :  you  don't  know  which  side  is  coming 
down — head  or  tail." 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  99 

Peter  gave  a  melodramatic  groan,  as  he  often  did  at  Robert's 
melancholy  speeches.  Robert's  disposition  was  naturally  anxious 
and  careful. 

"The  cause  of  disappointment  and  despair  may  be  twofold,  Robert 
— possibly  I  should  say  threefold.  First,  it  may  arise  from  a  mis- 
apprehension of  our  own  abilities,  and  what  our  own  object  should 
be,  and  we  may  grasp  at  more  than  we  can  carry,  or  try  to  fill  some 
other  person's  place  too  large  for  us.  Many  a  child  has  gotten  a  fall 
trying  to  walk  in  its  father's  boots,  when  it  might  have  trotted  on 
safely  enough  in  its  own  shoes.  The  second  cause  of  failure  may  be 
this :  we  may  expect  too  much  of  life,  even  when  we  are  pursuing  a 
fit  object,  and  pursuing  it  properly.  We  set  before  us  an  ideal,  either 
of  excellence  in  our  object,  or  of  our  success  in  reaching  it,  or  of  the 
credit  that  we  shall  obtain  from  our  fellows ;  and  necessarily  falling 
short  of  these,  we  are  disappointed." 

"  But  tell  me,"  said  Peter,  "  is  it  a  disadvantage  to  have  a  high 
ideal  ?  You  know  William  the  Conqueror  cried  to  his  warriors, 
when  they  failed  in  an  attack,  'Aim  higher ;  let  your  arrows  rain  on 
them  from  the  clouds.' " 

"A  high  ideal  is  certainly  an  advantage :  the  higher  we  aim  the 
higher  we  shall  fly  ;  it  is  not  by  stretching  toward  the  top  of  a  pine 
that  an  eagle  rises  near  the  sun.  What  I  mean  to  guard  you  against 
is  despair,  when  you  do  not  reach  your  ideal.  I  will  quote  you  from 
a  judicious  Italian  author,  Giusti:  'The  word  always  remains  defec- 
tive to  the  thought,  as  matter  to  spirit,  although  they  both  aspire  to 
the  same  end,  for,  as  Dante  says  in  his  Paradise, 

'  "  They  are  diversely  feathered  in  the  wings." 

The  true  artist,  entrusting  to  canvas,  marble,  or  paper  the  image  of 
his  thought,  the  passion  of  his  soul,  strives  ever  to  reach  an  inex- 
pressible idea.'  And  what  is  true  of  the  artist  is  true  of  all.  The 
grand  ideal  cannot  be  attained,  for  its,  dimensions  and  distance  in- 
crease as  we  go  toward  it.  Success  is  never  so  full  and  perfect  as  we 
expected  it :  applause  is  not  so  hearty,  nor  fame  so  sweet.  All  be- 


100  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

cause  the  wings  of  the  soul  are  better  feathered  for  flight  than  is  the 
body.  When  you  realize  this  in  experience,  do  not  be  filled  with 
dismay :  this  is  a  trial  common  to  all  men.  Heaven  is  the  only  land 
of  fulfilled  ideals.  Hope  and  strive,  but  be  reasonable  in  both.  I  do 
not  wish  to  see  you  as  Parini  wrote:  'Restlessly  wandering  through 
the  long,  hard  paths  of  hope.'" 

"And  what  is  the  third  reason  of  disappointment  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  The  first,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  was  a  mistake  in  our  object :  the 
second  a  mistake  in  ourselves :  the  third  is  a  mistake  concerning  the 
circumstances  of  human  life.  We  are  able  to  control  only  a  very 
small  part  of  what  surrounds  us.  Do  the  best  we  may,  and  disaster 
may  overtake  us,  because  of  some  other  man's  error,  or  because  of 
some  disciplinary  plans  of  Providence,  or  because  He,  who  equally 
guides  all  His  creatures,  must  cross  our  aims  in  reaching  the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number.  We  frequently  forget  that 
we  are  not  'placed  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,'  and  that  out 
small  loss  may  be  the  greater  gain  of  our  neighbors.  Then,  too,  as 
says  the  poet, 

"  '  Men  may  rise  by  stepping-stones 

Of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things ; ' 

and  we  often  grow  by  our  very  losses  and  disappointments,  if  we  rise 
manfully  above  them,  instead  of  sinking  down  in  despair.  Probably 
no  one  was  ever  heard  of  who  passed  through  life  getting  all  wishes 
gratified,  and  meeting  no  troubles.  Human  events  are  so  consti- 
tuted that  '  Loss  is  common  to  the  race ' — loss  of  friends,  health, 
money,  position.  We  must  begin  by  admitting  and  expecting  this, 
and  not  fancy  that  we  are  to  have  everything  our  own  way,  and  get 
along  easier  than  other  people." 

"  Then  I  suppose,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  we  are  to  use  that  com- 
mon-sense which  you  have  commended  to  us,  in  hoping  for  the  best, 
while  recognizing  the  possibility  of  loss  and  disappointment ;  so  that 
if  any  trouble  comes,  we  shall  not  be  cast  down  and  despair:" 

"Avoid,  of  all  things,  a  despairing  habit,"  said  Thomas.  "  Despair 
kills.  If  we  get  a  tumble,  let  us  up  and  try  it  over  again.  Other 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  101 

people,  as  good  as  we,  have  made  failure  after  failure.  Remember 
Bruce." 

"  Do  you  not  think,"  said  the  deacon,  "  that  a  frequent  cause 
of  failure  is  a  lack  of  thorough  preparation  for  the  business 
that  is  chosen  ?  People  build  with  untempered  mortar,  and 
then  wonder  that  their  walls  will  not  stand.  Our  minister  said, 
last  Sabbath,  that  the  great  curse  of  all  professions  now-a- 
days  was  '  half-educated  men.'  I  thought  this  saying  might 
reach  farther  than  to  professions;  it  is  true  of  every  avocation  in 
life.  There  is  a  deal  too  much  shoddy  in  use :  shoddy  work,  and 
shoddy  material." 

"You  are  right,"  said  the  Stranger;  "this  spirit  of  shoddy  per- 
vades American  life.  Our  young  people  are  not  willing  to  serve  an 
apprenticeship,  and  be  then  journeymen  before  they  are  masters. 
They  get  a  smattering  of  things,  spend  as  many  months  in  learning 
as  once  men  spent  years,  and  then  wish  to  be  considered  adepts ; 
they  turn  out  poor  work,  and  poor  work  becomes  the  fashion.  We 
have  no  buildings  now  such  as  once  were  erected  for  lasting  cen- 
turies. We  hear  constantly  of  belts  and  boilers  bursting  from  flaws, 
which  poor  workmanship  left  in  them;  and  buildings  and  bridges 
fall,  and  utensils  and  fabrics  wear  out  prematurely,  for  lack  of  being 
well  made.  Our  tyros  were  themselves  the  products  of  too  much 
haste  to  make  careful  and  elaborate  work.  Thus  we  have  poor 
housekeepers,  poor  seamstresses,  poor  nurses,  teachers  and  servants; 
poor  farmers,  quack  doctors,  weak  preachers  and  pettifogging  law- 
yers— all  because  there  was  a  lack  of  thoroughness  in  their  prepara- 
tion. They  idled  along  life,  not  knowing  what  they  would  finally 
conclude  to  do:  suddenly  found  that  self-support  must  be  under- 
taken, and  rushed  into  the  first  occupation  that  came  handy,  unques- 
tioning whether  they  were  fit  or  not.  A  man  was  a  shoemaker's 
clerk  one  month,  and  a  full-blown  druggist  the  next,  until  a  paternal 
State,  alarmed  at  having  its  citizens  slain  by  'errors  in  putting  up 
prescriptions,'  ordained  a  preparation  and  a  diploma,  as  defences  to 
the  druggist's  business.  But  I  talk  too  long.  Horace  has  warned 


102  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

us,  'Whatsoever  thou  teachest,  be  brief/  and  on  that  admirable  rule 
I  constantly  trespass." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Thomas.  "  We  take  up  themes  which  cannot 
be  dismissed  in  a  moment.  I  think  you  say  what  is  very  true  of 
young  people,  that  many  of  them  do  not  consider  what  they  would 
or  could  do,  and  consequently  make  no  preparation  for  any  particu- 
lar line  of  life  until  the  very  time  that  they  must  begin  to  do  some- 
thing, and  then  they  take  the  first  thing  that  comes  handy,  whether 
they  are  fitted  for  it,  or  are  likely  to  continue  in  it." 

"  Yes,"  added  Robert,  "as  far  as  I  know,  most  young  folks  have  a 
general  notion  that  they  will  get  married,  and  that  bounds  their 
future.  The  young  men  have  no  clear  ideas  about  how  they  shall 
pay  house-rent,  or  buy  flour  or  fuel,  and  the  young  women  are  just 
as  uncertain  as  to  the  best  method  of  mending  a  coat,  or  making  a 
loaf  of  bread." 

"  Oh,  fie,  fie,"  cried  Violet,  "  what  is  so  detestable  as  a  cynic  of 
eighteen!" 

"  Sometimes,"  said  Catherine,  "  people  find  their  tastes  and  abili- 
ties so  nearly  balanced  that  it  is  hard  to  decide  between  two  voca- 
tions. I  have  read  of  a  famous  astronomer  who,  while  completing 
his  college  course,  found  his  mind  so  nicely  divided  between  medi- 
cine and  astronomy  that  he  did  not  know  which  to  pursue.  He  tossed 
up  a  penny,  having  named  the  sides,  and  astronomy  came  down  up- 
permost ;  so  that  he  embraced  as  his  work,  and  became  famous, 
while  it  is  probable  that  he  might  have  become  equally  famous  in 
medicine." 

"  I  can  scarcely  conceive,"  said  Laura,  "  that  a  man  with  capacity 
for  greatness  could  have  been  guilty  of  deciding  a  grand  life-question 
by  so  trifling  a  method." 

"  It  is  one  of  the  disadvantages  of  being  famous,"  said  the  deacon, 
"  that  great  people  must  have  all  manner  of  stories  made  up  about 
them,  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  multitude." 

"  Some  people  think,"  said  Catherine,  turning  to  their  host,  "  that 
girls  should  have  no  other  object  in  life  than  to  stay  at  home,  learn 


LIVING  FOR  AN  OBJECT.  103 

a  little  housekeeping  and  needlework,  a  few  accomplishments,  and 
how  to  be  agreeable." 

"You  will  find,"  replied  the  Stranger,  "that  I  have  other  ideas 
when  I  come  to  tell  you  of  occupations  and  professions  for 
women.  But  here  I  wish  to  say,  that  every  young  woman  should 
take  it  as  part  of  her  object  in  life  to  know  how  to  do  well 
certain  duties  that  naturally  fall  to  the  lot  of  women.  I  mean, 
that  every  woman  should  know  how  to  keep  a  house,  cook, 
sew  and  nurse  the  sick ;  and  in  these  things  one  cannot  be  too 
proficient." 

"  With  all  that,"  remonstrated  John  Frederick,  "  I  do  not  see  how 
they  can  have  time  to  learn  or  do  anything  else." 

"And  every  man,"  continued  the  Stranger,  ignoring  John  Fred- 
erick, "  should  know  how  to  take  care  of  a  vegetable  garden,  manage 
and  groom  a  horse,  milk  a  cow,  carve,  and  do  a  marketing;  also  to 
make  fires,  and  harness  up  a  wagon  or  carriage." 

"With  all  that,"  said  Laura,  carefully  imitating  the  tones  of  John 
Frederick,  "  I.  do  not  see  how  they  can  learn  or  do  anything  else." 

"And  yet,"  interposed  Catherine,  after  the  clique  at  the  Bureau 
had  laughed  merrily,  "  I  do  know  women  who  understand  well  all 
those  things  suggested  for  women,  have  added  to  them  all  those  just 
suggested  for  men,  and  yet  have  had  some  other  business  which  they 
knew  and  pursued  well  and  successfully." 

"And  I,"  said  Samuel,  "  have  known  men  who  added  to  their 
regular  and  well-pursued  occupation  all  this  extra  knowledge  just 
commended  for  men,  and,  besides,  could  sew  on  a  button,  make  a 
cup  of  tea,  or  some  toast;  could  nurse  the  sick,  and  sweep  a  room, 
and  were  not  the  less  manly  for  it." 

"  Nothing,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  is  more  elastic  than  human 
capacity.  We  have  twenty-four  hours  in  a  day;  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  in  a  year;  seventy  years  in  a  life;  and  yet  in  this 
time,  which  seems  so  short  while  art  is  so  long,  men  can  work 
wonders,  and  outdo  the  labors  of  Hercules.  Some  pursuit  stands 
central  in  life;  we  say  it  is  the  individual's  business;  we  name  the 


104 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


person  from  it,  lawyer,  doctor,  author,  farmer,  artist,  mason,  car- 
penter. But  around  this  central  object  a  thousand  acts  cluster: 
the  deeds  of  private,  family,  or  social  life;  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
works  of  charity,  homely  every-day  affairs,  more  than  the  sum  total 
of  our  especial  work-duty.  And  the  more  of  these  we  find  in  our 
lives,  the  more  rounded  and  full  is  the  individual  character." 


CHAPTER    SIXTH. 

A    DISCUSSION    OF   AMUSEMENTS. 

IT  was  a  warm  July  evening.  The  jessamine  hung  white 
with  flowers;  the  sky  was  yet  flushed  with  the  sunset; 
the  moon  was  rising  in  a  mellow  light;  the  air  was 
loaded  with  the  breath  of  roses  and  lilies,  and  pervaded 
by  the  chirp  and  hum  of  myriads  of  insects,  the  or- 
chestra of  the  summer  nights.  The  young  people  had  gathered 
about  their  friend.  They  sat  on  the  sills  of  the  open  windows,  on 
the  steps  of  the  portico,  and  had  camp-stools  placed  on  the  grass 
plat,  or  the  gravel  walk. 

"  The  day  has  been  so  warm,"  exclaimed  Peter,  "  that  all  my 
energies  are  exhausted.  I  do  not  wish  to  hear  about  work,  or 
duties!  No  burdens  of  responsibilities  for  me  in  July!  Let  us 
learn,  rather,  about  amusement,  if  even  amusement  is  not  too  much 
trouble." 

"  When  you  discussed  physical  culture,"  said  Thomas,  "  you  told 
us  that  some  time  you  would  consider  what  amusements  were  most 
suitable,  innocent  and  healthful." 

"Dare  you  undertake  such  a  discussion  on  this  hot  night?"  cried 
Laura,  ''for  here  you  will  find  we  all  have  our  hobbies,  and  are  likely 
to  rise  in  their  defence." 

"As  we  are  reasonable  beings,"  said  the  Stranger,  "we  should 
have  a  reason  for  all  that  we  do. _  Why  do  we  amuse  ourselves?" 

"  Why  to  kill  time,  to  distract  our  attention,  to  rest  our  minds,  to 
cheer  us  up,"  said  Henry. 

"  Now  I  object  entirely  to  your  first  reason,  that  it  is  to  kill  time. 

(105) 


106  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

That  is  indeed  a  horrible  sort  of  murder,  to  try  and  destroy  our  rich 
possession,  of  which  we  should  never  have  a  surplus:  a  possession 
limited,  valuable,  often  wildly  prayed  for,  and  which,  once  lost,  can- 
not be  replaced.  Time  is  not  to  be  killed,  but  to  be  treasured,  and 
in  amusement  we  should  not  kill  time,  but  turn  it  to  lighter,  but  not 
less  necessary  uses.  •  Your  other  reasons,  though,  were  right.  We 
do  seek  amusement  to  distract  our  mind  from  too  intense  pursuit  of 
weighty  themes,  and  refresh  our  spirits.  All  things,  that  possess  ani- 
mal life,  play.  Play  is  one  of  the  manifestations  of  animal  life.  By 
sport,  reasonably  pursued,  brain  and  body  are  refreshed.  The  object 
of  sport  should  then  be  to  strengthen  the  physique  and  cheer  the 
mind.  Therefore  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  will  agree  with  me  on 
this  premise — that  whatever  exhausts  injuriously,  or  in  any  way 
disables  the  body  or  mind,  should  not  be  pursued  for  sport." 

"  Yes,"  said  Thomas,  "that  is  only  reasonable,  but  I  fancy  we  shall 
find  more  things  contraband  while  discussing  sports,  than  we  did 
while  discussing  health." 

"  Horace,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  gives  us  a  pretty  picture  of  re- 
laxation, where  he  calls  Thalliarchus  to  close  his  doors  and  amuse 
himself  during  the  long  winter  evening.  The  labors  of  the  harvest 
are  ended ;  the  trees  stoop  under  a  burden  of  snow ;  the  rivers  are 
silent  under  the  ice ;  the  wood-fire  blazes  on  the  hearth,  and  then  he 
bids  Thalliarchus  to  leave  to  the  gods,  who  rule  the  winds  and  seas, 
his  other  cares ;  he  has  done  the  best  that  he  can  for  himself,  and  now 
let  him  be  merry,  and  feel  certain  that  whatever  the  morn  may 
bring,  will  be  surely  in  some  way  for  his  advantage." 

"  What  a  heathen  could  thus  reach  in  his  philosophy,"  said  Samuel, 
"  a  Christian  ought  surely  to  reach  in  his  religion." 

"  I  am  glad  you  said  that,  Samuel,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  for  I 
wanted  to  lay  down  this  for  my  second  premise — that  amusement, 
sport,  relaxation,  is  not  antagonistic  to,  nor  incompatible  with,  piety. 
Christians  should  be  the  most  cheerful  of  people,  as  they  best  should 
know  how  to  dismiss  cafes,  relax  their  minds  in  recreation,  and  be 
happy  as  little  children,  assured  that  whatever  is  coming  will  be 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  107 

arranged  by  their  Father  for  their  good.  I  do  not  think  that  God, 
more  than  other  parents,  likes  to  see  long  faces  and  gloomy  eyes  in 
his  family." 

"As  I  understand  you,"  said  Thomas,  "  amusement  is  for  the 
refreshment  of  body  and  brain,  and  when  it  is  of  a  kind  or  degree 
to  damage  brain  or  body,  it  is  unlawful,  and  not  to  be  pursued.  Are 
these  our  limits  ?  " 

"  Not  entirely,  Thomas:  there  are  other  things  to  be  considered — 
as  our  especial  circumstances  in  life,  family,  or  pecuniary.  We 
should  not  pursue  amusements  that  would  pain  or  distress  those 
whose  feelings  we  are  bound  to  respect;  and  we  should  not  pursue 
amusements  of  which  we  are  financially  incapable,  so  that  our 
pleasure  (which  might  be  right  for  others)  would  make  us  spend- 
thrifts, or  dishonest." 

"The  variety  of  amusements  is  so  immense,"  said  Violet,  "that 
we  shall  only  be  able  to  discuss  a  very  few  of  them." 

"  Let  us  then  divide  them  in  this  way,"  said  the  Stranger : 

"  First :  Out-of-door  amusements,  especially  involving  fresh  air  and 
exercise.  These  are  the  best  of  all. 

"  Second  :  In-door  amusements. 

"  Third  :  Questionable  amusements. 

"At  the  same  time,  I  shall  consider  the  amusements  of  Young 
People,  not  of  children.  The  child's  amusements  are  spontaneous, 
carried  on  during  a  large  share  of  its  waking  hours,  and  are,  or 
should  be,  carefully  controlled  by  its  parents.  Young  people,  at 
an  age  when  they  must  use  their  own  judgment  as  to  the  kind,  time 
and  extent  of  their  amusements,  and  also  as  to  their  propriety,  their 
safety  for  themselves,  and  their  suitability  when  physical,  family, 
and  pecuniary  circumstances  are  considered,  find  the  question  of* 
amusement  one  of  great  importance,  and  often  of  great  difficulty. 
Just  as  there  arrives  in  the  lives  of  some  young  people  a  crisis,  when 
they  become  morbid  about  eating,  and  undertake  to  starve  them- 
selves into  refinement,  intellectuality,  or  poetic  sensibility,  so  there 
sometimes  comes  a  time  when  they  get  morbid  about  amusement; 
they  are,  in  their  opinion,  too  old,  wise,  or  delicate,  for  recreation." 


108  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  But  many  old  people  have  that  state  of  mind,  chronic,"  quoth 
Samuel,  whose  aunt  was  a  little  heavy  on  him. 

"  There  are  mistaken  people  of  all  ages ;  and  mistakes  arise  from 
many  causes,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"  The  Puritans  were  opposed  to  amusements,"  said  Laura. 

"  They  are  accused  of  being  more  so  than  they  really  were,"  said 
the  Stranger.  "  It  is  a  silly  fashion  of  to-day,  when  we  are  reaping 
golden  harvests  of  liberty  and  of  prosperity  from  Puritan  sowing,  to 
decry  and  criticise  the  Puritans.  But  you  must  remember  that  the 
Puritans  were,  in  the  first  place,  sorely  aggrieved  by  having  Sabbath 
sports  forced  on  them  under  Charles ;  then  they  lived  in  hourly 
danger  in  persecuting  and  revolutionary  times;  and  then, .for  a  hun- 
dred years,  in  this  country,  they  were  making  a  hard  fight  for  mere 
existence,  occupied  with  self-defence,  beset  by  wild  beasts,  and  wild 
Indians,  and  people  needed  to  be  too  alert,  and  too  much  on  guard, 
to  amuse  themselves  very  much.  There  are  some  people,  dyspeptics 
most  of  them,  I  fancy,  of  all  creeds,  and  all  classes,  who  decry  mirth 
or  laughter.  But  hear  what  Hobbes  says  of  laughter:  'The  pas- 
sion of  laughter  is  nothing  else  but  sudden  glory,  arising  from  some 
sudden  conception  of  some  eminency  in  ourselves.'  '  Laugh  if  you 
are  wise,'  says  Martial ;  and  Addison  says  that  '  men  generally  laugh 
from  a  sense  of  superiority  in  themselves,  either  to  what  they  once 
were,  or  to  what  other  people  are.'  But  laughter  has  deeper  depths 
than  this;  laughter  is  a  sudden  glory,  but  it  is  of 'the  glory  that 
shines  on  men  from  the  benevolence  of  God.  Pure  mirth,  not  the 
cackling  laughter  of  fools,  or  the  bitter  laugh  at  others'  misfortunes, 
comes  to  us  a  reflection  of  those  smiles  of  nature,  the  wide  wimpling 
of  the  sea  under  the  sun,  the  bursting  forth  of  light  from  a  cloud,  or 
*the  dawning  of  the  day.  Laughter  in  Scripture  often  means  to 
receive  comfort  and  joy ;  '  God,'  says  Job,  '  shall  fill  thy  mouth  witli 
laughter; '  and  when  '  God  turned  away  the  captivity  of  Zion,  then  was 
our  mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our  lips  with  singing.'  Laughter 
is  thus  often  the  pure  outburst  of  happiness,  a  happiness  arising 
from  finding  things  in  harmony  with  each  other.  Harmony  in  facts 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  109 

is  set  to  music  in  laughter.  There  is  also  the  enjoyment  of  the 
ludicrous — the  simply  absurd — and  this  I  dwell  on,  because  in  this 
we  find  much  mental  recreation,  as  in  jests  and  puns.  This  enjoy- 
ment of  the  ludicrous  is  a  simple  and  natural  emotion  of  the  mind. 
Locke  says  that  it  '  arises  from  mental  quickness  in  putting  together 
seemingly  incongruous  things.' 

"  However,  I  do  not  think  you  young  people  need  to  be  reasoned 
into  being  merry  and  happy.  Thanks  to  a  Good  Providence,  you 
take  to  it  naturally.  In  regard  to  recreations,  Dr.  Channing  says: 
'  In  every  community,  there  must  be  pleasures,  relaxations,  and  means 
of  agreeable  excitement,  and  if  innocent  ones  are  not  furnished, 
resort  will  be  had  to  criminal.  Man  was  made  to  enjoy  as  well  as 
labor;  and  the  state  of  society  should  be  adapted  to  this  principle 
of  human  nature.'  Wise  old  Peter  Parley  thus  holds  forth  :  '  Cer- 
tain amusements  contribute  to  health,  and  promote  virtue,  and  some 
prominent  vices  have  received  encouragement  from  a  lack  of  inno- 
cent amusement.'  As  first  then,  in  recreations  tending  to  assure 
health,  let  us  look  at  out-of-door  exercises.  Take  those  of  the 
water  first.  There  is  swimming.  Not  only  for  health,  but  also  for 
safety,  every  young  person,  lad  or  lass,  should  try  and  learn  to  swim. 
This  most  useful  recreation  was  so  highly  esteemed  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  that  ignorance  of  it  was  classed  with  ignorance 
of  reading.  Not  only  is  the  knowledge  of  swimming  safe,  as  often 
preserving  life  in  case  of  accident,  and  maintaining  calmness  in  dan- 
ger, but  it  is  in  itself  most  healthful.  While  the  water  is  purifying 
and  strengthening  the  body,  the  action  of  swimming  is  calling  into 
play  all  the  muscles.  The  swimmer  should  be  fully  taught  in  his 
art,  and  should  learn  the  rules  of  health  connected  with  it,  as  apply- 
ing to  his  own  personal  case.  On  no  sport  should  common-sense 
and  private  judgment  be  more  carefully  brought  to  bear,  for  in  none 
may  an  error  be  more  fatal.  Some  can  endure  a  much  colder  tem- 
perature of  water  than  others:  some  can  remain  in  the  water  longer. 
If  chilliness,  numbness,  blue-nails,  and  a  mottled  skin  show  re- 
pressed circulation,  then  the  swimmer  should  leave  the  water,  and 


110  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

set  about  a  vigorous  rubbing.  One  should  not  go  into  the  water 
while  the  body  is  at  a  high  temperature,  nor  after  violent  exercise. 
In  learning  to  swim  one  should  be  accompanied  by  some  person 
accustomed  to  the  water,  and  competent  to  take  care  of  him. 
Never  go  in  swimming  within  one  and  a  half  or  two  hours  after 
a  hearty  meal.  Another  important  rule  is,  wet  the  head  thoroughly 
just  before  entering  the  ivater" 

"  What  is  the  best  place  for  swimming  and  bathing  ? "  asked 
Thomas. 

"  The  sea,  by  all  means :  its  water  is  pure,  invigorating,  and  in 
its  chemical  properties  make  it  most  helpful  in  strengthening  the 
nerves,  and  digestive  organs.  But  many  of  you  cannot  know 
the  multiplied  delights  of  an  ocean  bath ;  your  next  best  place  is  a 
running  river.  The  still  mill  pond  is  but  a  poor  place,  and  a  stag- 
nant creek,  especially  where  scum,  weeds,  and  foul  smelling  water, 
are  found,  should  be  very  carefully  avoided,  as  these  can  fill  the  sys- 
tem with  malarious  poisons,  and  bring  on  rheumatism,  agues,  or 
fevers.  One  needs  fresh,  clear  water  to  swim  in." 

"And  what  are  suitable  bathing  clothes  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  Loosely  made  clothes  of  flannel,  which  leave  the  arms  and  feet 
bare." 

"And  when  one  goes  into  the  water  first,  to  learn,  what  helps  are 
to  be  had  ?  "  inquired  Violet. 

"  Corks  and  bladders  are  recommended  by  some,  but  while  they 
make  the  body  buoyant,  they  take  from  the  learner  all  confidence  in 
himself.  A  board  to  hold  by,  as  it  is  pushed  before  you,  is  a  good 
help,  but  then — one  may  lose  his  board.  A  rope,  fast  to  the  bank, 
is  another  invention  for  securing  the  tyro's  safety.  However,  learn 
to  swim  any  way  that  you  can.  Do  not  undertake  it  without  that 
consent  which  wise  parents  should  always  give,  being  careful  to  se- 
cure for  the  learner  proper  companions,  bathing  place,  and  opportu- 
nity. Learn  all  kinds  of  swimming,  diving,  floating,  treading, 
sitting,  and  standing  in  water,  and  you  will  call  this  the  prince  of 
out-of-door  recreations." 


A   DISCUSSION   OF  AMUSEMENTS.  Ill 

"  Next,"  said  Robert,  "  we  must  hear  something  of  boating." 
"  That  is  another  amusement  for  young  men  and  women.  All 
should  learn  how  to  behave  themselves  in  a  boat,  and  how  to  manage 
a  boat.  No  exercise  is  better  than  rowing,  for  most  young  girls.  It 
develops  and  strengthens  the  muscles  of  the  arms,  back  and  chest, 
which  are  apt  to  be  weak  in  growing  girls,  owing  to  their  sedentary 
habits.  Rowing  will  give  them  strong  lungs,  bright  eyes  and  rosy 
cheeks.  Every  young  man  should  know  how  to  row  and  sail  a 
boat;  it  may  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  him,  besides  being  agree- 
able, innocent  and  healthful  as  a  recreation.  It  is  not  by  knowing 
how  to  manage  a  boat,  but  by  not  knowing  how,  that  people  are 
drowned.  Knowledge  begets  self-confidence;  self-confidence  is  calm 
and  ready  in  emergencies.  I  should  say  to  young  men,  when  you 
can  row  a  boat,  learn  how  to  sail  a  boat;  when  you  can  do  both, 
learn  how  to  build  a  boat,  and  then  study  navigation  and  learn  how 
to  guide  a  ship." 

"  Can  you  say  as  much  for  skating?"  asked  Catherine. 
"  Skating  may  be  less  likely  to  be  a  useful  and  life-saving  accom- 
plishment," said  the  Stranger;  "but  it  is  healthful  and  delightful.  It 
is  also  most  ancient.  So  long  as  six  and  eight  hundred  years  ago 
the  youth  of  England  slid  upon  the  frozen  Thames,  making  a  kind 
of  skate  by  tying  the  bones  of  beasts  under  the  soles  of  their  shoes, 
and  then  propelling  themselves  over  the  ice  by  a  long  pole  shod  with 
iron.  In  contrast  to  such  rude  contrivance  we  have  the  beautiful 
club  or  roller  skate  of  the  present.  Holland  has  been  the  great 
patroness  of  skating,  and  inventor  of  skates.  The  frozen  canals  are 
her  winter  highways,  and  all  Hollanders,  young  and  old,  rich  and 
poor,  men  and  women,  skate.  Fifteen  miles  an  hour  is  said  to  be 
made  by  good  skaters  in  Friesland." 

"And  what  rules  are  to  be  observed  in  skating?"  said  Violet. 
"  First,  do  not  go  without  the  consent  of  your  parents  or  guar- 
dians; second,  assure  yourself  of  the  soundness  of  the  ice;  third,  be 
warmly  and  closely  clad;   fourth,  don't,  in  bravado,  over-exert  your- 
selves, or  go  into  dangerous  places;  fifth,  don't  get  tired  and  hot,  and 


112  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

then  sit  down  to  cool  off;  sixth,  have  a  cloak  or  shawl  to  put  on  the 
ground,  or  snow,  where  you  sit  to  put  on  and  remove  your  skates, 
and  wrap  this  covering  about  you  when  you  are  resting.  Observing 
these  six  rules,  I  believe  you  may  always  find  in  skating  a  fascinating 
recreation,  and  one  useful  to  your  health." 

"  I  do  not  see  what  further  amusement  we  can  get  out  of  the  water, 
unless  we  fish  in  it,"  said  Robert. 

"  Now  I  am  in  a  strait,"  replied  their  friend.  "  I  am,  from  prin- 
ciple, deeply  opposed  to  taking  the  life  of  any  inferior  animal, 
whether  bird  or  beast,  for  amusement,  as  in  the  pursuit  of  fishing  or 
hunting.  And  yet,  how  shall  I  condemn  the  gentle  sport  that  Isaac 
Walton  loved,  and  whereof  he  so  enchantingly  plays  the  philoso- 
pher? 'My  recreation  is  calm  and  quiet;  we  anglers  seldom  use 
the  name  of  God,  except  to  praise,  or  pray.  The  water  is  the  eldest 
daughter  of  creation,  and  is  more  productive  than  the  earth.  Our 
art  is  ancient,  some  say  old  as  Deucalion's  flood.  From  early  days  a 
debate  hath  been,  where  happiness  doth  most  consist,  in  action  or 
contemplation,  but  I  am  content  with  telling  you  that  both  these 
meet  together  and  belong  to  the  most  honest,  ingenious,  quiet  and 
harmless  art  of  angling.'  " 

"Add  this  to  our  recreations,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  and  fancy 
that  we  eat  our  fish,  or  give  them  to  the  poor;  or  fish  for  hours  with 
intense  satisfaction,  getting  nothing  but  bites." 

"  The  sweet  repose  for  thought,  the  beautiful  silence  of  the  woods, 
the  harmonies  of  the  waters,  the  quiet  communion  with  nature  in  her 
choice  retreats,  these  invite  me  to  commend  to  you  the  recreation  of 
rod  and  line.  I  suppose  you  will  take  it  where  it  suits,  whether  I 
commend  it  or  no,  youths  and  maids  both,  for  some  women  are  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  this  sport.  I  remember  that  Fanny  Kemble  tells  us 
that  her  mother  was  never  so  happy  as  when  seated  by  some  rippling 
brook,  watching  a  line  in  the  water.  Let  me,  then,  merely  warn  of 
some  of  the  dangers  of  this  pleasure.  Be  careful  that  it  does  not 
lead  you  into  a  cruel  disposition;  take  as  great  heed  that  it  does  not 
induce  idleness  and  a  habit  of  dreaming.  This  is  undoubtedly  its 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  113 

tendency,  and  there  are  few  who  can,  while  fishing,  ponder  profound 
philosophies,  as  did  Walton.  If  you  have  an  angler's  passion, 
limit  its  outcome  with  an  iron  resolution;  for  the  rest,  fish  and  be 
happy." 

"  Bravo  !  "  said  Peter.     "  Come,  sir,  will  you  go  gunning  ?  " 

"  No,  I  will  not,"  replied  the  Stranger;  "  but  yet  let  us  shoot  at  a 
mark.  You  must  know  how  to  fire  and  handle,  clean  and  load  a 
gun.  It  will  not  hurt  you  girls,  either — may  be  useful  at  some  day. 
Let  me  begin  by  telling  you  that  I  entirely  loathe  this  wholesale 
destruction  of  beautiful,  innocent  and  useful  birds — this  slaughter  of 
bright-eyed  squirrels,  of  shy  rabbits  and  fleet  hares.  Our  woods, 
once  full  of  happy  things,  are  becoming  depopulated.  Not  only 
from  Young  America's  destructiveness  is  the  sum  total  of  happiness 
in  creation  lessened,  but  agriculture  suffers  in  the  diminution  of  birds 
that  destroy  dangerous  insects,  which  injure  fruit  and  grain;  also 
science  suffers  in  the  almost  total  extinction  of  valuable  varieties  of 
feathered  creatures." 

"And  yet  you  want  us  to  learn  to  shoot  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  Yes.  To  be  a  good  marksman  is  a  valuable  accomplishment. 
In  this  age  of  fire-arms,  one  must  know  how  to  use  them ;  and,  as  I 
said  about  the  boating,  life  is  lost  not  so  much  by  knowing  how,  in 
these  sports,  as  by  not  knowing  how.  The  expert  with  a  gun  is  not 
the  man  who  accidentally  kills  himself  or  his  neighbor;  it  is  the 
bungler,  or  the  careless  lad,  engaged  in  forbidden  recreations,  that  is 
the  centre  of  these  tragedies." 

"  This  subject,"  said  Henry,  "  suggests  that  of  military  drill.  What 
do  you  think  of  that  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  man  of  peace,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  I  would  that  no 
more  wars  should  destroy  the  earth.  And  yet  prophecy  and  nature 
teach  me  that  wars  shall  accompany  men  to  the  end  of  this  dispensa- 
tion. A  nation  such  as  ours,  which  has,  as  we  may  say,  no  standing 
army,  should  be  a  nation  of  soldiers.  Every  man  should  understand 
military  drill.  And  this,  instead  of  making  us  belligerent,  will  be 
likely  to  maintain  our  peace,  for  we  shall  have  the  calm  and  forbear- 


11*  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ance  of  strength.  If  all  our  men  are  citizen-soldiers ;  that  is,  if  they 
know  how  to  handle  sword  as  well  as  plough,  to  shoulder  a  musket 
as  well  as  a  hoe,  to  carry  a  knapsack  as  cheerily  as  a  blue  bag,  then 
we  shall  be  more  awful  in  our  prestige  abroad,  our  citizens  shall 
more  securely  trust  in  the  flag  that  protects  them,  and  at  home 
we  shall  have  less  bluster  and  more  assured  good  sense.  Men  do 
not  enter  into  braggadocio  over  what  they  really  know  and  can  do." 

"  Is  not  this  drill  to  be  considered  in  its  benefit  to  health  ?  "  asked 
Thomas. 

"  Most  certainly  it  is.  One  who  has  learned  the  manual  of  arms 
is  sure  to  carry  himself  erectly  and  walk  well.  Many  drooping 
shoulders  and  weak  chests  have  been  corrected  by  military  drill. 
Flabby  arms  have  grown  tense  and  nervous,  feeble  backs  have 
straightened  themselves  and  become  tough  and  muscular,  and  a  new 
lease  of  life  seems  to  have  been  given  by  this  exercise.  But  mind,  I 
am  speaking  of  this  as  an  exercise,  conducted  on  proper  occasions, 
under  proper  instructions,  out  of  doors.  I  do  not  intend  to  counte- 
nance blustering  assemblies,  reaching  far  into  the  night,  where  young 
fellows  arrange  to  neglect  their  business  and  waste  their  money. 
There  is  reason  in  all  things." 

44  But  you  are  talking  of  something  from  which  we  girls  are  en- 
tirely shut  out,"  said  Laura,  pouting. 

"Quite  the  contrary.  All  the  good  physical  effect  that  this  drill 
has  on  boys  it  will  have  on  girls." 

"Oh,  the  idea!"  cried  Violet,  "of  our  being  out  broiling  in  the 
hot  sun,  carrying  great,  heavy,  frightful  guns,  with  the  boys!  " 

44  But  that  is  not  the  idea.  You  are  not  to  drill  with  the  boys ;  that 
would  hinder  them,  and  not  help  you.  You  are  to  have  very  light 
guns,  and  you  can  drill  in  the  shade  of  your  gardens,  orchards,  or 
gymnasiums.  As  to  the  value  of  it,  I  must  tell  you  what  Fanny 
Kemblc  says.  She  relates  that  in  her  early  girlhood  she  had  a 
stooping  figure  and  an  ungraceful  walk.  Her  father  hired  an  old 
sergeant  of  the  British  army  to  come  to  the  house  every  day  for  an 
hour,  and  give  her  military  drill.  At  the  end  of  the  year  she  held 


A   DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  115 

her  head  erect,  her  figure  was  straight  and  elastic,  and  she  walked 
with  ease  and  grace.  And  these  good  results  remained  with  her. 
so  that  she  could  always  carry  herself  finely,  and  walk  without 
fatigue." 

"  Don't  you  think  the  schools  where  they  have  military  drill  are  to 
be  preferred?"  asked  Samuel. 

"  Yes:  other  things  being  equal.  So  also  the  universities  where  a 
United  States  officer  is  detailed  as  drill-master.  The  trouble  is,  that 
the  military  exercise  becomes  an  old  story,  and  is  neglected  for  other 
things." 

"What  about  Gymnasiums?"  asked  Catherine. 

"  They  are  good  in  their  way,  but  I  am  less  an  admirer  of  them 
than  are  some  people.  That  exercise  which  can  be  had  out  of  doors, 
and  has  an  object  in  it,  is  always  to  be  preferred.  Gymnastic  ex- 
ercises often  provoke  to  dangerous  exertions,  and  produce  strains 
and  injuries;  especially  as  those  who  take  part  in  them  frequently 
forget  that  one  person  can  not  always  do  what  another  person  can, 
and  that  the  style  of  exercise  that  helps  one  may  hurt  another. 
Still  the  Gymnasiums  have  their  useful  place,  and  particularly  for 
those  in  cities,  and  who  are  pursuing  sedentary  occupations.  But 
take  your  gymnastics  out  of  doors  when  you  can." 

"  Then  next  you  will  approve  of  cricket,  base  ball,  foot-ball,  ten- 
pins and  bowls  ?  "  said  John  Frederick. 

"  Yes  ;  but  let  me  tell  you  that  there  is  too  little  caution  used  in 
playing  these  heavy  games.  When  foot-ball  is  played  in  spiked 
shoes,  and  kicks  are  promiscuously  given,  life  is  often  endangered, 
and  ruptures  and  other  fatal  effects  may  follow.  Remember  com- 
mon-sense. Never  forget  that  Sport  is  pursued  for  the  help  of  body 
and  brain,  and  if  you  so  pursue  sport  as  to  hurt  body  or  brain,  you 
destroy  the  very  end  of  the  sport.  A  young  student  who  by  some 
foolish  excess  in  these  sports  disables  himself,  so  that  for  a  week  or 
a  month  of  his  school  year  he  is  laid  up,  does  himself  an  irreparable 
injury,  he  has  'played  the  fool,  and  erred  exceedingly.'  His  parents, 
who  give  him  his  time,  pay  his  bills,  and  invest  their  hopes  in  his 


116  PRACTICAL    LIFE. 

success,  have  great  right  to  complain  of  his  rashness.  So,  some- 
times, the  young  clerk  in  business,  by  recklessness  in  an  hour  .of 
amusement,  Damages  himself,  so  that  he  falls  ill,  and  loses  his  place, 
and  means  of  support;  and  the  young  farmer  passes,  from  the  same 
cause,  a  whole  season  in  inactivity.  Now  think  wisely  on  these 
things." 

"Do  tell  us  girls  some  real  nice  active  games,"  cried  Violet. 
"  We  get  tired  of  knocking  about  croquet  balls." 

"  But  croquet  is  a  very  good  game,  if  you  do  not  continue  it  in 
the  prostrating  heat  of  the  sun,  or  in  the  dangerous  damps  of 
evening,  or  ridiculously  dressed." 

"  How  dressed  ?  "  demanded  Violet  defiantly. 

"  Say.  with  an  infinitesimal  fragment  of  a  hat  knocked  down  over 
your  eyes ;  a  gauze  veil  tied  closely  around  your  features ;  your 
waists  so  tightly  girded  that  they  can  illy  bend  ;  your  dress  sleeves 
so  '  lovely  '  a  close  fit,  that  it  is  hard  work  to  give  a  good  blow  with 
your  mallet ;  tight  gloves  on  your  nice  little  hands  ;  half  a  dozen 
dangling  chains  to  catch  your  rnallet  handle  ;  a  weight  of  skirts  that 
impede  your  motions ;  possibly  bound  so  narrowly  back  that  you 
cannot  take  a  free  step ;  while  you  have  a  long  train,  which  eitln  r 
occupies. one  hand  to  hold  up,  or  sweeps  recklessly  about,  displacing 
balls  and  dragging  down  wickets.  Then  mount  all  this  magnifi- 
cence on  a  pair  of  small  kid  boots,  with -very  high  heels  under  the 
middle  of  the  foot,  destroying  your  equilibrium,  racking  your  nerves, 
and  displacing  the  pose  of  your  spine,  at  every  step  you  take,  and 
you  will  appear  on  the  play-ground,  looking  '  awfully  sweet,'  per- 
haps— but — most  awfully  silly  !  " 

"  Come,  come,"  said  Catherine,  when  the  mirth  at  this  graphic 
picture  had  subsided.  "  That  is  not  what  we  like  to  hear :  we  want 
to  be  told  of  some  nice  games." 

"  Here  then  I  make  my  peace  with  you  by  mentioning  three :  ten- 
pins, bowls,  and  archery.     These  games  are  healthful  to  a  high  dc 
gree.  especially  if  practised  out  of  doors.      They  employ  all  the 
muscles,  give  you  a  good  position,  very  graceful  motions,  erectness, 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  117 

and  also  an  accuracy  of  eye.  Many  a  thin,  drooping,  delicate  girl, 
could  be  made  ruddy  and  robust,  if  her  doting  parents,  instead  of 
taking  her  from  school,  dosing  her  with  drugs,  coaxing  her  with 
dainties,  and  housing  her  in  a  hot  room,  would  set  up  a  tenpin  alley 
for  her." 

"And  how  \vi\\you  allow  us  to  be  dressed  for  tenpins,  archery  and 
bowls?"  asked  Violet,  with  a  vast  pretence  of  humility. 

"  You  may  have,  if  out  of  doors,  a  hat,  wide  brimmed  enough  to 
shade  your  eyes,  and  as  pretty  as  you  like ;  a  pair  of  thread  or  silk 
gloves,  if  gloves  you  will  wear  at  play,  loose  enough  so  you  can 
handle  your  balls  and  bows;  but  I  warn  you  you  will  be  no  good 
players  of  these  games  if  you  wear  gloves.  Your  gowns  must  be 
loose  enough  for  your  muscles  to  have  fair  play  in  any  motion  de- 
manded ;  so  loose  that  you  can  fully  inflate  your  lungs  without  any 
restriction.  Your  shoes  must  be  large  enough  to  allow  you  to  stand 
firmly,  and  step  quickly  without  toppling ;  the  heels  must  be  low,' 
and  under  the  heel  of  your  foot.  Your  skirts  must  clear  the  ground, 
and  not  be  so  heavy,  or  so  close,  as  to  impede  motion.  Dress  in 
this  way,  and  play  at  archery,  tenpins  or  bowls,  and  you  will  grow 
more  healthful  every  day." 

"Though  there  may  be  other  out-of-door  amusements,  tell  us 
something  of  in-door  recreations,"  said  Peter. 

"  There  is  often  weather  which  shuts  us  in-doors,  and  the  very 
fact  of  the  bad  weather  may  make  us  feel  more  need  of  recreation. 
There  must  be  games  for  the  house.  The  social  gathering  demands 
some  cheery  way  of  passing  time.  The  family,  in  its  leisure  hours, 
would  draw  near  together  in  sports.  When  wearied  with  work, 
study,  or  the  cares  of  life,  or  fretted  by  pain,  ill  health,  or  the  tedium 
of  convalescence,  we  get  strong  more  quickly,  and  sleep  better,  for 
having  some  pleasant  game  before  we  go  to  bed.  Chess  is  a  good 
game,  and  a  beautiful  one,  if  it  does  not  become  too  absorbing,  and 
if  the  effort  to  play  it  well  does  not  become  a  labor  and  over-tax 
weak  nerves.  Draughts  or  checkers  are  pleasing  to  many  people, 
and  not  so  long  or  taxing  a  game  as  chess.  There  is  one  game  of 


118  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

dominos,  a  game  bearing  many  names,  but  which,  being  played  in 
successions  of  fives,  is  interesting,  and  quite  arithmetical.  Logo- 
machie,  or  a  game  of  letters,  is  very  interesting,  and  becomes  even 
useful  in  making  good  spellers  and  quick  thinkers.  Logomachie  is 
played  in  various  ways,  and  unless  it  makes  the  excitable  player 
tired  and  nervous  as  he  strives  after  the  varied  combinations  of 
letters  in  words,  it  is  a  good  game  for  closing  an  evening.  One  ad- 
vantage is,  that  a  number  can  play  it.  An  old-fashioned  game,  with 
a  moral  in  it,  is,  'The  Castle  of  Happiness.'  This  most  of  you  have 
seen,  and  it  may  interest  you  to  know  that  the  pictures  for  the 
original  game  were  drawn  by  Cruikshank,  whose  wonderful  temper- 
ance picture,  'The  Worship  of  Bacchus,'  would  have  made  him 
famous,  even  if  his  genius  had  not  been  illustrated  by  many  other 
brilliant  productions.  A  newer  game  in  the  same  style  is,  '  The  Pil- 
grim's Progress,'  which  gives  one  a  familiarity  with  the  most  charm- 
ing of  allegories.  The  making  of  toys  and  curious  objects  is  another 
cheery  way  of  amusing  oneself,  and  is  particularly  useful  to  invalids 
or  the  aged.  There  are  numbers  of  books  on  parlor  games,  some 
of  these  games  being  pretty  and  instructive,  especially  those  involv- 
ing questions  and  skill  in  history  and  natural  science.  Forfeits,  as  a 
game,  can  sometimes  be  wisely  and  wittily  conducted ;  where  they 
descend  into  a  vulgar  'kissing  game,'  they  are  beneath  contempt,  and 
should  not  be  in  vogue  among  refined  people.  Books  also  are  pub- 
lished on  what  is  called  Parlor  Magic ;  this  embraces  much  that  is  curi- 
ous, and  requires  some  knowledge  of  chemistry,  quickness  in  thought 
and  motion,  and  adaptability.  A  young  person  who  understands  some 
of  this  parlor  magic,  and  can  exhibit  it  easily  and  gracefully,  becomes 
very  agreeable  and  useful  in  the  social  circle,  and  also  in  making 
home  lively  and  attractive.  Every  family  should  be  willing  to  go 
to  the  small  expense  of  getting  some  book  to  suggest  and  direct  in 
social  amusements,  for  if  these  are  to  be  had  at  home,  young  people 
are  far  less  likely  to  roam  abroad  for  the  cheerful  pleasures  that  youth 
craves,  and  which  are  really  needful  to  health." 

"  Now,  sir,"  said  Catherine,  "  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have  very 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  119 

clearly  opened  the  way  to  the  discussion  of  your  third  head,  the 
Questionable  Amusements." 

"  John  Frederick  began  the  conversation  on  recreation  by  quoting 
from  Horace,"  said  Robert.  "  I  shall  quote  from  the  same  author 
on  the  theme  of  Social  Drinking:  '  Heaven  sends  all  miseries  upon 
the  thirsty — nor  are  gnawing  cares  driven  out  unless  by  the  wine- 
cup.  Who  quarrels  about  his  taxes  or  his  poverty  after  wine?' " 

"Why,  Robert !  I  thought  you  belonged  to  a  temperance  society," 
cried  Violet. 

"And  if  you  tolerate  social  drinking,  count  me  out  of  the  list  of 
your  friends,"  said  Laura  with  dignity. 

"  I  am  quoting  Horace,  not  expressing  myself,"  said  Robert. 

"  Since  Horace  in  one  breath  decries  drunkenness  and  exalts 
drinking,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  I  suppose  that  he  commended  the  use 
only  of  those  light  wines,  almost  entirely  lacking  alcohol :  wines  now 
in  common  use  in  Italy,  and  which,  in  a  pure  state,  cannot  cross  the  sea 
without  spoiling.  But  the  free  use  of  these,  simple  as  they  are,  has 
not  been  beneficial  to  the  Italian  people,  either  mentally  or  physically. 
Most  of  the  stamina  of  the  Roman  day  has  gone.  As  for  our 
wines,  beers,  ales,  and  so  on,  and  our  climate,  and  our  physical 
constitutions,  I  can  only  say  that  there  is  but  one  safety — total  absti- 
nence ;  and  the  first  recreation  that  I  shall  forbid  you  is,  sharing  in 
any  gathering  or  convivium  where  wine  is  offered.  A  concourse  of 
young  friends  for  social  converse  is  useful  and  pleasant;  it  refreshes 
the  mind,  stimulates  thought,  awakens  sympathy,  helps  to  humanize 
us ;  we  are  social  animals  by  nature.  But  as  soon  as  wine  enters, 
the  social  gathering  is  dangerous.  Not  only  should  you  entirely 
abstain  from  it  yourself,  but  you  should  never  offer  it  to  others, 
and  should  earnestly  discountenance  its  use.  From  a  social  glass 
many  a  gallant  fellow  may  date  his  perdition." 

"  That  is  right,"  said  Robert.  "  I  see  all  here  agree  with  you. 
We  only  wanted  an  expression  of  opinion.  Now  we  want  your 
views  on  cards.  Is  there  harm  in  handling  bits  of  pasteboard  ?" 

"Almost  everybody  plays  euchre,"  said  Thomas. 


120  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And  I  have  heard  cribbage  called  a  very  scientific  game,  and 
ft  is  said  to  improve  people  in  the  power  of  calculation,"  added 
Laura. 

"  Nearly  everybody  plays  some  game  of  cards,"  said  Henry. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  when  I  visit  watering-places,  I  find  the 
parlors  full  of  people  playing  cards.  I  see  that  boys  sit  for  hours  at 
this  game;  so  also  do  girls.  I  have  seen  tables  full  of  youngsters, 
from  eight  to  fourteen  years  old,  handling  their  cards  with  much 
aplomb,  intent  with  all  their  souls  on  the  game ;  often  I  have 
noticed  such  a  group  of  little  card-players,  where  I  knew  that  every 
child  was  the  child  of  church  members.  I  called  on  a  cousin  of  mine 
once,  and  as  I  handed  her  a  book  a  pack  of  cards  dropped  out.  She 
looked  embarrassed.  'Oh,'  she  said,  'some  trash  the  children  build 
houses  with."  'No,  ma,'  spoke  up  her  little  daughter,  'they  are  the 
cards  you  and  pa,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  play  with  every  Sunday 
afternoon!'  I  know  a  lady  whose  two  sons  are  never  at  home  in 
the  evenings.  She  says  they  are  at  a  neighbor's,  playing  cards. 
They  are  there,  indeed,  and  after  the  cards  they  are  apt  to  stroll  out 
in  the  streets;  and  then  they  drop  into  a  bar,  a  saloon,  a  billiard  or 
pool  room,  or  some  even  worse  place,  'to  see  how  things  look,' 
and  they  are  on  the  high  road  to  becoming  ruined  young  men." 

"  I  see  your  drift,"  said  Samuel ;  "  will  you  give  us  your  views 
more  fully  ?  " 

"  In  the  first  place,  let  me  say  that  cards  are  the  chief  instrument 
used  in  gambling.  None  of  you  will  deny  that  gambling  is  a  terrible 
sin:  that  its  nature  is  seductive,  so  that,  insensibly,  it  becomes  a 
passion.  If  we  lose  in  gambling,  we  waste  our  substance,  and  are  on 
the  road  to  ruin  and  despair;  if  we  ivin,  we  are  ruining  somebody 
else,  and  getting  his  money  for  nought.  Whether  we  lose  or  win, 
we  are  likely  to  go  on  gambling  if  once  we  have  begun;  if  we  lose, 
we  go  on  to  retrieve;  if  we  win,  to  keep  on  winning,  for  the  thirst  for 
gold  is  cruel  and  insatiable.  All  common-sense,  all  popular  opinion 
and  all  legislation  assure  us  of  the  evil  of  gaming.  The  word 
gambler  is  a  synonym  for  vice;  now  none  of  you  question  this." 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  121 

"  No,"  said  Henry.  "  But  playing  cards  is  not  gambling ;  one 
does  not  always  play  for  stakes  of  any  kind." 

"  The  next  observation  I  shall  make  to  you  is,  that  the  country  is 
cursed  with  numbers  of  men  and  women  who  make  their  living  by 
gambling.  These  sharpers  infest  hotels  and  public  conveyances. 
They  dress  as  roughs,  as  countrymen,  as  gentlemen ;  they  have  as 
many  shapes  as  Proteus,  and  they  are  vampires  that  feed  on  the  life 
of  humanity.  These  wretches  are  bound  to  make  their  living  out 
of  other  people.  A  young  man  may  be  invited  'to  take  a  quiet 
game,'  by  the  most  simple,  genteel,  kindly-looking  body,  or  the 
most  exquisite  gentleman,  and  before  he  knows  it  he  is  in  the 
clutches  of  a  gambling  fiend.  Now  the  lad's  safety  would  have  been 
entire  ignorance  of  the  game.  'Thanks,  I  do  not  know  one  card  from 
another.'  If  the  matter  is  pressed — 'Oh,  I  will  teach  you  in  five 
minutes' — 'Thanks,  I  do  not  care  to  learn.'  Then,  if  the  urging 
goes  further,  evidently  it  is  suspicious :  why  this  zeal  ?  '/  have  re- 
solved not  to  learn'  But,  you  see,  if  one  has  already  learned ;  if  he 
has  been  'merely  handling  pasteboards,'  'playing  genteelly  at  home,' 
'  improving  his  powers  of  calculation,'  why  how  much  more  readily 
does  he  become  a  victim  !  The  very  fact  that  he  has  played  these 
games  agreeably  and  safely,  makes  him  liable  to  play  where  his 
ruin  is  imminent." 

"  But  if  he  has  played  the  game  at  home,  say  to  learn  it  well,  why 
not  accept  the  invitation,  and  beat  the  gambler  at  his  own  art,  and 
teach  him  manners  ?  "  said  Henry. 

"  I  should  not  want  to  win  his  dirty  money,  the  price  of  some 
one's  soul,  and  one  cannot  touch  pitch  without  being  defiled.  You 
would  be  morally  worse,  even  if  you  did  win  the  game  of  him,"  said 
Catherine. 

"  But,  my  dear  fellow,  you  could  not  win  the  game,  even  if  you 
were  an  adept  in  it,  simply  because,  not  being  a  villain,  you  cannot 
meet  a  villain  on  his  own  grounds.  Marked,  bent,  shaved,  scratched, 
extra  cards,  are  a  mere  margin  of  the  gambler's  devices.  Being  a 
gambler,  he  cannot  and  will  not  act  fairly.  If  he  does  let  you  get  a 


122  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

game  or  so,  it  is  merely  to  play  you  on  his  hook,  as  one  does  a  fine 
fish,  to  be  more  sure  of  landing  him.  I  want  to  impress  on  you,  in 
regard  to  cards,  the  safety  of  ignorance.  If  you  get  a  knowledge 
of  their  use  at  home,  it  lays  you  open  to  being  destroyed  by  them 
abroad." 

"  The  rule  we  assented  to  as  a  common-sense  limit  for  amusement," 
said  Samuel,  "  was  this:  that  recreation  should  be  of  a  character  to 
improve  us  physically  and  mentally,  and  not  be  displeasing  to  our 
best  friends,  nor  likely  to  lead  us  into  extravagance.  I  can  see  that 
card-playing  does  not  lie  within  these  limits.  Cards  are  played 
mostly  at  night,  in  hot  rooms,  by  artificial  light,  accompanied  often 
by  the  wine,  tobacco  and  late  hours,  which  you  have  shown  us  to  be 
physically  injurious.  They  are  also  likely  to  over-excite  the  mind, 
stimulate  avarice,  stir  up  anger,  induce  deceit,  unsettle  one  from 
steady  labor;  thus  they  are  not  improving,  but  harmful  to  brain. 
Wise  and  good  people,  our  best  friends,  have  united  in  condemning 
them  ;  no  one  was  ever  heard  of  who  was  more  of  a  man,  or  really 
better,  for  playing  them.  And  no  one  will  question  that  they  lead 
to  extravagance,  and  have  provoked  many  thefts  and  forgeries." 

Catherine  looked  at  Samuel  admiringly. 

"  You  have  plead  your  case  well,  Samuel,"  said  the  Stranger. 
"And  now  I  wish  to  remind  you  of  one  word.  That  word,  by  pop- 
ular consent,  is  applied  to  gambling  rooms.  They  are  called  a  hell. 
This  one  word  paints  the  frenzy,  the  remorse,  the  agony,  the  despair, 
the  crime,  that  haunt  the  gambling  table.  Why  should  homes  and 
innocent  social  circles  make  themselves  the  fair,  flower-wreathed 
gates  of  hell?" 

11  Certainly  this  looks  like  a  dangerous  knowledge,"  said  Violet. 

"  Gaming,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  is  an  unlawful  source  of  gain,  for 
it  takes  one's  money  without  equivalent.  It  is  an  uncertain  source 
of  gain,  and  keeps  one  on  the  rack,  lest  one  sharper  than  he  should 
come  and  spoil  him.  Gaming  is  accompanied  by  bad  associates; 
well  says  Solomon,  '  He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  have  plenty  of 
bread :  but  he  that  followeth  after  vain  persons,  shall  have  poverty 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  123 

enough.'  It  is  also  attended  by  intemperance  and  ill  health,  by 
shortness  of  life,  penury  and  suicide,  or  other  violent  death.  How 
would  you  regard  a  parent  who  stood  smiling  while  his  child  was 
toying  with  a  razor  or  sipping  poison  ?  Yet  a  parent  who  deals  out 
to  a  child  a  pack  of  cards,  or  stands  unconcerned  to  see  them  play- 
ing cards,  is  looking  on  at  what  is  likely  to  be  the  initiation  of  all 
these  evils." 

"  You  mentioned  billiards,"  said  Robert.     "  What  of  those  ?  " 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  it  is  undoubtedly  an 
expensive  game.  The  cost  of  a  table,  balls,  room,  lights  and  attend- 
ance reaches  a  large  figure,  and  people  cannot  have  the  game  of 
billiards  for  nothing.  When  a  young  fellow  loves  this  very  pretty 
and  stylish  game,  he  must  make  up  his  mind  that  it  will  cost  him,  in 
a  year,  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  Next,  he  must  reflect,  that  it 
will  lead  him  from  the  associations  of  the  billiard  room  into  expenses 
for  smoking,  dashing  dress,  perhaps  a  few  bets  and  treats.  Then,  he 
must  add,  that  it  is  a  recreation  that  will  take  him  from  home,  from 
the  society  of  mother,  sisters,  wife — from  pleasures  which  they  can 
share.  Another  thought  will  be,  that  it  will  absorb  his  evenings : 
take  up  time  from  reading,  or  any  improving  pursuits ;  and,  instead, 
the  time  will  be  spent  in  close  air,  artificial  light,  late  hours,  noise, 
and  some  amount  of  swearing  and  drinking,  and  coarse  jesting  and 
talking."  •  ^  . 

"  Upon  my  word,  you  do  not  make  it  look  so  very  attractive," 
said  John  Frederick. 

"What!     No?     But  it  looks  as  it  is,  I  believe." 

"  But  suppose  one  is  rich  enough  to  have  a  billiard  table  at  home? 
And  then  he  can  keep  out  all  these  evils,  and  bring  in  his  sisters 
and  friends  to  drive  balls." 

"So  he  can.  The  idea  looks  well.  Let  me  inquire  how  he  will 
do  when  he  is  away  from  home;  when  his  business  calls  him  from 
the  paternal  roof,  and  as  a  beginner  in  life,  he  cannot  set  up  this 
expensive  amusement  on  his  private  behalf?  As  he  is  habituated  to 
it,  will  he  not  be  more  than  likely  to  take  it  up,  as  I  at  first  described 


124  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

it  with  all  its  evil  accompaniments  ?  But  if  he  had  not  had  his 
home  billiards,  and  had  not  learned  the  game,  would  not  he  be 
spared  some  temptation ;  delivered  from  much  company  of  fast 
men;  and  from  the  dangers  that  I  have  just  hinted  to  you?  A 
young  man  lately  arrested  for  embezzlement  said :  '  It  was  cards  and 
billiards,  especially  the  billiards,  that  did  it.  I  played  a  good  deal, 
and  when  I  lost,  and  could  not  pay,  my  companions  would  jeer  me. 
So  by  degrees  I  began  to  use  my  employer's  money  to  pay  up.'  An 
important  paper,  publishing  this  confession, thus  comments:  'This  is 
but  one  among  many  similar  cases;  such  are  constantly  occurring. 
To  contract  the  habit  of  playing  any  game  whatever  for  money  is 
dangerous  in  the  extreme." 

"Why  this  man  makes  out  billiards  to  be  worse  than  cards." 

"  I  suppose  he  means  that  he  was  fonder  of  billiards,  played  them 
more,  and  considering  them  a  safer  and  more  reputable  game  than 
cards,  was  less  sensible  of  danger.  I  will  say  this  for  billiards,  it 
makes  young  men  selfish.  They  will  spend  money  on  their  billiards 
and  feel  that  they  cannot  afford  to  take  wife  or  sister,  as  the  case 
may  be,  to  a  concert,  or  for  a  ride.  Their  father  never  gets  a  book 
or  a  cane,  as  a  token  of  their  filial  regard,  and  their  mother,  who 
has  spent  years  of  devotion  to  them,  receives  no  token  of  remem- 
brance on  birthdays  or  Christmas  days:  all  their  spare  money — 
blessed  thing  if  not  more  than  that,  or  some  one  else's  money — has 
been  sp^nt  on  billiards." 

"  You  are  cutting  down  pretty  close  on  us  fellows,"  said  Thomas. 
"  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  turn  your  attention  to  the  young 
ladies  for  a  while,  and  let  us  hear  some  remarks  on  the  subject  of 
dancing?  " 

"  Dancing  is  a  very  healthful  amusement,"  said  Laura,  eagerly,  "  it 
is  charming  exercise.  It  also  is  graceful,  and  teaches  one  how  to 
walk,  stand  and  move  well.  It  makes  one  feel  at  ease  in  society, 
and  it  fills  up  the  time  nicely  in  companies.  I  am  sure  dancing  is 
a  deal  better  than  sitting  gossiping,  or  wine-drinking,  or  playing 
noisy  games,  or  kissing  games." 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  125 

"I  shall  not- deny  any  of  your  propositions,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"And  besides,"  said  Henry,  "  dancing  seems  a  very  natural  amuse- 
ment. Children  appear  to  dance  spontaneously,  they  will  move 
gracefully  in  time  to  music,  even  before  they  are  taught  this  as  an 
art.  All  nations  and  ages  have  practised  dancing — and  Scripture 
says  :  '  There  is  a  time  to  dance.'  " 

"  I  think  then  it  must  mean  the  time  of  childhood,"  said  John 
Frederick,  "  for  if  one  thing  more  than  another  looks  silly  and 
really  disgusting  to  me,  it  is  to  see  people  of  mature  age,  men  and 
women,  who  must  have  learned  by  cares  and  sorrows,  the  gravity  of 
life,  getting  up  and  moving  about  in  set  figures,  like  so  many  pup- 
pets. I  hate  to  see  middle-aged  ladies  dressed  up  like  young  girls, 
and  making  exhibitions  of  themselves." 

"  But  I  am  not  discoursing  to  these  middle-aged  people :  we  can 
leave  their  proprieties  out  of  the  question.  We  are  considering 
what  is  good  and  suitable  for  young  people,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"And  what  will  you  say  in  regard  to  our  arguments  for  dancing?" 
cried  Laura  and  Henry  in  a  breath. 

"  I  shall  admit  all  your  propositions.  Dancing  is  anciqnt  and 
universal  as  a  recreation ;  it  seems  to  be  a  natural  exhibition  of 
animal  life  and  spirits;  it  is  exercise;  it  is  graceful,  some  of  it;  and 
it  is  better  than  gossip,  drinking,  or  coarse  games.  Let  me  now 
inquire  with  meekness,  whether,  being  deprived  of  dancing,  we  are 
forced  on  gossip,  wine  and  vulgarity?  Or,  whether  it  makes  a  thing 
good  to  be  better  than  a  bad  ?" 

"  La!  do  hear  him  come  round  !  "  cried  Violet.  "  I  knew  just  as 
soon  as  he  began  to  yield  so  freely,  that  he  was  about  to  deploy  in 
some  flank  movement." 

The  Stranger  raised  his  eyebrows  at  the  audacious  Violet,  and 
continued  his  remarks  with  simplicity.  "To  knock  colored  balls 
over  a  flannel-covered  table ;  to  tumble  squared  and  spotted  bits  of 
bone  out  of  a  leather  cup ;  to  handle,  according  to  rules,  certain 
prettily  painted  bits  of  paste-board  ;  to  move  in  set,  graceful  figures 
the  human  body,  turning  its  motions  to  music,  these  are  all  things 


126  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

innocent  and  harmless  per  se,  which  means,  taken  by  themselves.  So 
St.  Paul  found  that  all  kinds  of  meats  for  food  were  right  and 
harmless  to  be  taken,  and  even  if  offered  to  an  idol  their  goodness 
remained  all  unaltered  in  itself,  because  an  idol  was  a  nothing.  He 
also  found  that,  the  Sabbath  reserved,  all  days  were  alike  in  value 
and  holiness.  But  the  mind  of  man  lays  hold  of  all  these  things 
which  are  in  themselves  indifferent,  and  puts  them  in  a  setting, 
which  makes  them  positively  good  or  evil ;  the  mind  stronger  than 
the  physical,  seizes  on  the  physical  and  dyes  it  ineffaceably.  We 
find  thus,  that  things  which  are  themselves  harmless  become  harm- 
ful and  dangerous,  from  certain  surroundings  which  have  been  in- 
separably combined  with  them.  Thus  these  bones,  balls,  and  paste- 
boards, innocuous  in  themselves  as  any  other  materials  of  the  kind, 
became  dangerous  and  subject  to  prohibition,  since  man's  evil  nature 
has  made  them  the  instruments  of  ruin,  and  has  united  to  them  the 
worst  moral  influences.  Remember,  I  beg  of  you,  the  rule  that  we 
laid  down  as  our  limit  in  admitting  recreations.  They  must  serve  for 
the  advantage  of  mind  and  body.  Now  if  dancing  could  be  indulged, 
was  generally  indulged,  in  the  safe  proprieties  of  the  home  circle,  in 
the  dress,  and  during  the  usual  hours  of  home  recreations,  if  it  could 
be  an  every  day,  unexciting,  domestic  amusement,  involving  no 
elaborate  preparation,  then  no  fault  could  be  found  with  it." 

"  It  can  ;  it  can  be  this,"  said  Laura  quickly. 

"But  is  it?"  asked  the  Stranger. 

"  I  never  knew  any  one  who  could  dance  so  to  limit  it,"  remarked 
Samuel. 

"  Let  us  try  it  by  our  rule,"  said  the  Stranger.  "First,  what  are  its 
physical  effects  ?  It  is  exercise — good.  But  it  is  exercise  pursued 
almost  universally  at  night,  when  exercise  should  cease ;  it  is  exer- 
cise carried  to  the  point  of  fatigue,  of  panting  breathlessness ;  exer- 
cise so  spurred  on  by  interest  and  excitement  that,  without  knowing 
it,  and  without  realization  of  weariness,  one  goes  far  beyond  their 
strength,  and  provokes  as  extreme  a  reaction.  Dancing  is  pursued, 
we  might  say  entirely,  with  the  accompaniments  of  artificial  lights, 


A   DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  127 

over-heated  air,  late  hours,  elaborate  and  late  refreshments,  and 
imprudent  dress.  Catherine,  dress  me  a  young  lady  for  a  ball,  or  a 
dancing-party.  I  trust  her  to  your  taste." 

"  My  taste  might  not  make  her  as  she  is,  sir." 

"  Then  let  us  have  a  product  of  your  descriptive  powers,  and  not 
of  your  imagination." 

"Well,  sir:  her  hair  is  to  be  very  nicely  arranged,  curled,  braided 
or  frizzed,  and  adorned  with  flowers,  ribbon,  lace,  pearls,  a  gold  chain 
or  some  ornament.  Her  dress  must  be  of  very  light,  thin  material, 
as  lawn,  tulle,  crepe,  tarletan  and  lace ;  or  it  must  be  of  light-colored 
but  heavy  silk  or  satin.  It  must  be  made  low  in  the  neck  and 
short  in  the  sleeve,  and  must  have  a  train.  It  must  be  very  richly 
trimmed  with  ruffles,  puffs,  loops,  quillings,  shirrings,  plaitings,  tucks, 
frills,  lace,  knots  of  flowers,  ribbons,  bows,  ends,  streamers,  sashes. 
She  must  have  bracelets,  rings,  necklets,  lockets,  ear-rings,  slides, 
clasps,  pins,  a  fan,  a  lace  handkerchief,  a  bouquet  and  bouquet-holder, 
and  a  vinaigrette.  I  think  she's  done,  sir." 

"O  Catherine!"  screamed  Violet,  amid  shouts  of  mirth,  "  where 
are  her  gloves  ?  " 

"Oh  my,  yes!  She  must  have  long,  light  kid-gloves,  tight  as 
she  can  get  them  on.  She  may  need  a  little  rouge  and  pearl 
powder ;  and  her  feet  must  be  in  low,  tight,  and  very,  very  thin 
shoes." 

"Oh,  I've  seen  her;  and  though  you  do  not  say  so,  I  remember 
that  the  little  dear  has  her  waist  as  small  as  it  can  be  squeezed,  and 
a  very  heavy  weight  of  highly  trimmed  skirts.  Has  it  taken  long  to 
plan  all  this  magnificence?"  said  the  Stranger. 

"Oh,  quite  long,  sir,"  said  Violet:  "ever  since  she  heard  of  the 
party,  you  know." 

"  But  why  does  she  get  herself  up  in  this  fashion?" 

"  Because  it  is  the  fashion,  and  so  that  she  may  be  admired,  and 
«  look  prettier  than  any  one  else  if  she  can,"  said  Laura. 

"  Now  I  will  give  you  one  item  of  information,  and  then  we  will 
pass  from  the  physical  to  the  mental  effects  of  dancing.  A  celebrated 


128  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

physician  told  me  this :  The  majority  of  his  patients  were  ladies 
under  thirty,  and  the  majority  of  these  were  suffering  from  the  effects 
of  dancing — from  the  over-exertion,  over-excitement,  over-dressing, 
and  late  hours  that  inseparably  belong  to  dancing.  Moreover,  he 
said  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  the  sufferers  would  admit  the 
cause,  and,  on  the  contrary,  they  declared  that  dancing  alone  kept 
them  up,  and  that  they  never  felt  so  well  as  when  engaging  in  it. 
Allow  me  now  to  point  out  some  of  the  moral  effects  of  dancing,  as 
it  is  invariably  pursued.  The  first  are  those  which  Laura  suggested 
in  her  reasons  for  her  damsel's  dress ;  vanity,  desire  of  attracting 
attention,  rivalry,  envy.  Lovely  attributes  of  the  human  soul !  Laura, 
my  dear,  you  are  a  very  pretty  girl.  Suppose  you  come  forward  here 
in  the  centre  of  the  room  and  let  us  stare  at  you." 

"  Why,  outrageous  !  "  cried  Laura,  angrily ;  "  how  can  you  talk 
so !  "  and  as  all  eyes  began  to  be  fixed  on  her,  she,  in  a  passion, 
turned  her  back  to  the  whole  assembly. 

"  Well,  forgive  me,  child,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  but  as  you  show 
so  much  modest  reserve  now,  how  can  you  think  of  meditating  for 
a  week  how  you  shall  set  off  your  charms,  with  the  deliberate  pur- 
pose of  outshining  others,  and  attracting  the  attention  of  a  room- 
full,  and  many  of  them  strangers  ?  " 

"  It  does  not  look  that  way,"  said  Laura. 

"  I  suppose  not.  There  are  a  good  many  things  which  we  would 
not^do  if  they  looked — as  they  arc'' 

"  I  suppose  another  of  the  moral  effects  which  you  would  mention," 
said  Thomas,  "  is  the  waste  of  time.  The  time  before  the  ball,  or 
dancing-party,  spent  in  planning.  The  exhaustion  and  late  sleep  of 
the  next  day;  the  mind  disturbed  by  excitement,  and  occupied  in 
reviewing  the  incidents  of  the  occasion." 

"  Yes,  and  another  important  point  is,  the  evil  mental  and  moral 
effects  of  a  promiscuous  assemblage.  The  young  meet  in  these 
great  gatherings  very  many  whom  they  had  better  not  know.  Danc- 
ing draws  people  into  a  sudden  and  dangerous  familiarity  with 
strangers.  The  mere  bringing  up  of  a  gentleman  before  a  lady, 


A   DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  129 

mentioning  his  name,  and  having  him  ask  her  hand  for  a  dance, 
warrants  him  in  clasping  her  in  his  arms,  resting  his  cheek  perhaps 
against  her  hair,  staring  into  her  eyes,  and  having  her  arm  thrown 
over  his  shoulder.  If  without  asking  permission  of  herself  or  family, 
he  intruded  into  her  house,  with  a  third  party  to  introduce  him,  and 
on  the  first  evening  of  his  visit  clasped  her  in  his  arms,  and  held 
her  hands,  her  father  and  brothers  would  come  to  the  rescue  in  a 
manner  dangerous  to  the  fellow's  bones.  A  young  lady  would  not 
be  willing  to  receive  in  public  from  her  accepted  suitor  such  em- 
braces as  she  permits  before  a  crowd  to  any  stranger  who  is  pr°- 
scnted  to  her  in  a  ball-room.  Now  what  is  the  moral  and  mental 
effect  of  these  things?" 

"  O  but,"  said  Violet,  "  they  do  not  seem  in  the  fact  half  as  hor- 
rible as  when  you  describe  them ! " 

"  Not  ?  That  is  another  fine  mental  effect,  the  blunting  of  our 
sensibilities.  Only  one  more  suggestion,  out  of  many,  will  I  make 
to  you.  Fancy  ten  balls,  or  large  dancing-parties,  and  honestly  seek 
out  what  physical,  mental  or  moral  improvement  would  accrue  to 
any  young  person  from  attending  them." 

"And  what  do  you  arrive  at,  in  this  discussion  of  a  thing  not  evil 
per se,  but  inextricably  associated  with  evil?"  asked  Robert. 

"  I  arrive,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  at  the  bliss  and  safety  of — 
ignorance." 

"  But,"  interposed  Laura,  "there  are  a  great  many  who  dance,  but 
do  not  engage  in  round  dances." 

"  So  far,  so  good.  But  is  there  not  much  danger  that  they  will  be 
drawn  into  the  round  dances  ?  And  are  they  saved  from  the  physi- 
cal evil  suggested  ?  or  from  the  mental  evils,  except  the  one  of  in- 
dulging in  what  is  in  fact  grossly  indecent?  Judges  on  the  bench, 
physicians,  ministers,  police  authorities,  teachers,  matrons  of  experi- 
ence, have  all  united  in  expounding  the  evils  that  have  become 
associated  with  dancing." 

"  There  is  another  very  popular  amusement  to  be  mentioned — the' 
theatre.     What  do   you  say  of  that?  "  said  Samuel. 
9 


130  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  On  this  even  a  greater  variety  of  opinion  exists  than  on  the 
subject  of  dancing.  We  are  treated  to  Shakespeare  and  the  antiqui- 
ties. Now  I  will  admit  that  the  theatre  is  not  an  evil  per  se.  It  is 
not  harmful  merely  to  ape  or  mimic  life.  If  the  life  imitated  were 
moral  life;  if  the  people  who  imitated  it  were  all  moral  people;  if  the 
imitation  were  given  at  proper  hours  and  in  perfectly  moral  sur- 
roundings, there  would  be  no  harm  in  the  theatre.  But  do  I  suggest 
what  is  possible  or  has  ever  existed !  Is  such  a  form  of  the  theatre 
ever  heard  of?  No.  We  take  the  theatre  as  it  is,  and  we  find  it  an 
accumulation  of  immoral  influences,  and  deserving  of  no  encourage- 
ment. It  is  the  fruitful  mother  of  intemperance  and  all  vice." 

"And  on  what  grounds  do  you  make  this  sweeping  condemna- 
tion ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"  First,  the  plays  exhibit  sinful  and  immoral  acts,  characters  and 
forms  of  life.  They  do  not  display  such  acts  as  one  could  safely 
copy.  Attractive  characters  and  good  acts  may  be  represented,  but 
they  are  always  marred  by  and  mingled  with  the  presentation  of 
iniquities,  coarseness,  indelicacy,  cruelty,  low  wit.  These  pictures 
of  unworthy  life  are  put  upon  the  stage  by  unworthy  people.  Profli- 
gacy, drunkenness,  brutality,  divorce,  suicides  are  rife  among  actors. 
There  may  be  those,  and  their  number  is  growing  less,  who  do  not 
share  these  vices ;  but  you  will  find  these  more  decorous  actors  de- 
ploring the  character  of  their  co-workers  and  the  effects  of  their 
profession.  A  great  actor  or  actress  may  arouse  a  furor  of  admira- 
tion, and,  while  living  an  openly  abandoned,  godless  life,  may  be 
carried  on  by  heedless  admirers,  receiving  public  ovations  and  ad- 
mitted into  refined  circles.  The  effects  of  this  course  are  most 
damaging  to  public  morals.  We  should  not  have  two  terms  of 
morality — one  for  ordinary  people,  and  one  for  those  who  amuse  us. 
No  persons  have  spoken  more  decidedly  against  the  theatre  than 
people  of  fair  moral  life  and  good  intellectual  abilities,  who  have  fol- 
lowed the  dramatic  profession.  Fannie  Kemble  Butler  says  of  it : 
4  That  nothing  really  seems  so  unworthy  of  a  thinking  person  as  to 
spend  their  time  in  pretending  grief,  rage,  love,  hate  or  other  emo- 


A  DISCUSSION  OF  AMUSEMENTS.  131 

tions,  exhibiting  themselves  for  the  amusement,  often,  of  a  mob.' 
Indeed  she  frequently  and  freely  condemns  her  profession.  All  that 
has  been  urged  against  dancing  and  card  and  billiard  playing,  on  the 
ground  of  the  pernicious  physical  effect  of  late  hours,  strong  artificial 
lights,  hot  poisonous  air,  promiscuous  company,  loose  speech  and 
acts,  can  be  doubly  alleged  against  the  theatre.  As  for  its  effects  on 
brain  and  soul,  it  encourages  extravagance,  gives  distorted  views  of 
life,  relaxes  the  tone  of  modesty  and  truthfulness,  over-stimulates  the 
imagination  and  emotions,  and  diverts  to  travesties  the  sympathy 
that  should  be  given  to  real  troubles.  Let  me  also  say  that  plays 
which  the  French  and  English  police  banish  from  the  boards  are 
brought  over  to  America,  and  our  youths  crowd  to  them  to  be  cor- 
rupted. These  same  objections  may  lie  against  the  opera,  with  this 
added,  that  the  subject  and  matter  of  foreign  operas  is  often  out- 
rageously indecent.  A  fine  lady,  ignorant  of  Italian,  said  at  a  sup- 
per table:  'I  don't  enjoy  these  concerts;  I  love  the  opera,  I  do  so 
enjoy  hearing  Norma  and  La  Traviata!  '  Madame,'  said  a  lady 
opposite,  '  if  you  understood  Italian,  you  would  see  that  La  Traviata 
is  not  a  fit  subject  to  mention  before  your  daughter;  and — you  take 
her  to  hear  it ! '  " 

"Well,"  said  Samuel,  "you  have  much  narrowed  the  circle  of  our 
lawful  amusements;  we  must  heartily  pursue  those  that  you  have  left 
us.  To-morrow  we  are  all  off  for  a  riding  party.  Is  that  without 
your  sanction  ?  You  have  not  mentioned  riding." 

"  What  an  omission  !  By  all  means,  not  only  have  your  party  to- 
morrow, but  ride  whenever  you  can.  There  is  no  finer  recreation  for 
young  men  or  women;  riding  is  indeed  an  indulgence  that  fully 
meets  our  requirements  in  pleasure,  by  being  helpful  alike  to  brain 
and  body." 


CHAPTER   SEVENTH. 

EDUCATION   AND    HOW   TO   ACQUIRE    IT. 

INTER  is  coming,"  said  Henry.  "  Yesterday  we 
were  out  chestnutting,  and  to-day  I  notice  that 
there  are  no  flowers  in  the  garden,  but  a  few 
shrivelled  petunias,  some  straggling  larkspurs  and 
the  bold  chrysanthemums.  Winter  is  the  part  of 
the  year  when  we  seem  to  have  the  most  working  time — the  most 
time  to  cultivate  ourselves." 

"That  is  odd,  too,"  said  Violet,  "for  the  days  are  shorter." 
"  They  are  less  full  of  outside  business.  There  is  much  which  we 
cannot  do  in  winter,  that  in  summer  we  must  do.  Then  the  summer 
heats  exhaust  us,  and  we  idle.  In  winter  we  feel  more  vigorous,  and 
realize  that  we  should  try  and  make  something  of  ourselves,"  replied 
Robert. 

"And  we  want  you  to  talk  to  us  about  education,"  said  Laura. 
"About   the  education   which    you    get   in   schools?"   asked   the 
Stranger,  "or  that  which  you  acquire  by  private  study?" 

"  I  wish,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  you  would  talk  about  the  educa- 
tion which  we  can  acquire  by  studying  alone.  There  are  a  great 
many  young  people  who  cannot  attend  advanced  schools.  These 
young  people  are  often  of  those  who  are  fond  of  study,  and  desire  to 
be  educated ;  but  after  they  have  gone  for  a  few  years  to  a  district 
school,  their  school  life  ends — they  must  study  alone.  I  have  a 
friend  who  expected,  when  she  was  sixteen,  to  be  sent  away  to  an 
academy  for  four  years'  study.  Her  health  has  failed,  so  that  it  is 
not  safe  for  her  to  be  away  from  the  care  and  comfort  that  she  can 
(132) 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  133 

get  at  home.  She  is  terribly  disappointed  by  the  interruption  of  her 
education,  and  she  is  not  too  feeble  to  study  and  make  real  advance, 
if  she  knew  how  and  if  some  easy  way  were  contrived  to  get  on  by 
herself.  I  thought  I  would  write  to  her  what  you  tell  us." 

"And  I  know  a  young  man  who  was  to  go  to  college,  but  his 
father  has  just  been  crippled,  and  my  friend  must  stay  at  home  to 
superintend  matters.  He  has  time  for  study  if  he  knew  how  to  set 
about  it,"  said  Peter. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  young  people  who  leave  school  early, 
because  their  parents  need  their  help  in  shop,  house,  or  farm.  They 
can  manage  to  get  an  hour  or  two  daily  for  study,  if  they  knew  how 
to  study,"  said  Robert. 

"And  there  are  other  young  people  who  have  no  very  good 
schools  near  their  homes,"  said  Laura,  "  and  cannot  afford  to  go 
from  home,  and  they  would  like  to  carry  on  their  education,  if  you 
could  tell  them  what  to  study  and  how  to  get  their  books  cheaply." 

"All  these  young  people,  circumstanced  as  you  describe,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "are  likely  to  become  our  most  useful  and  honored  citi- 
zens, and  I  shall  be  glad  if  I  can  now  give  a  few  hints  that  may  be 
,  to  them  in  their  upward  way." 

do  you  say  that  they,  especially,  are  likely  to  be  of  our 
most  useful  and  honored  citizens?"  asked  Samuel. 

"  Because  the  circumstances  of  their  life  force  self-denial  upon 
them.  And  of  this  it  is  true,  as  Sterling  says,  '  The  worst  education 
that  includes  teaching  self-denial,  is  better  than  the  best  that  teaches 
everything  else,  and  not  that.'  " 

"  Very  good,"  said  John  Frederick..  "  Now  will  you  tell  us  what 
these  our  future  best  citizens  should  study,  why  they  should  study, 
and  how  they  should  study?" 

"  I  will  try  and  do  so.  But,  first  of  all,  I  would  say  to  these  young 
people,  who  find  themselves  situated  so  adversely,  as  it  may  seem 
to  them,  '  never  be  discouraged.'  To  strong  minds  adversities  are 
elements  of  success.  These  cold  blasts  of  poverty  and  toil  may 
be  exactly  what  is  needed  to  harden  their  mental  constitutions. 


134  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Remember  what  says  the  poet  of  the  'Building  of  the  Ship,'  and 
which  may  as  well  be  applied  to  the  building  of  a  brain : 

"'What  anvils  rang,  what  hammers  beat. 
In  what  a  forge  and  what  a  heat 

Were  shaped  the  anchors  of  our  hope — 
Fear  not  the  sudden  sound  and  shock, 
Tis  of  the  wave,  and  not  the  rock.' 

Weak  natures  may  succumb  to  disasters;  but,  spared  disaster,  their 
weakness  would  have  prevented  their  efficiency.  But,  before  I  talk 
to  you  on  what  you  have  in  mind  as  studies  to  be  pursued,  I  wish  to 
speak  to  you  for  a  moment  of  that  which  underlies  all  really  useful 
education.  Without  this  '  something '  I  verily  believe  your  educa- 
tion will  be  a  damage  to  you,  for  '  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  him 
shall  much  be  required.'  I  noticed  the  other  day  this  just  remark 
in  Ik  Marvel's  '  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor: '  'A  man  without  some  sort 
of  religion  is  at  best  a  poor  reprobate,  the  football  of  destiny,  with  no 
tie  linking  him  to  infinity  and  the  wondrous  eternity  that  is  begun 
within  him.' " 

"  But  I  do  not  understand  this  '  some  sort  of  a  religion,' "  said 
Samuel.  "  If  he  is  '  tying  himself  to  eternity,'  by  means  of  a  false 
religion,  what  better  is  he  ?  " 

"  Most  true,  Samuel.  Your  suggestion  leads  up  to  what  I  meant 
to  say  to  you — that  our  religion  must  be  the  religion  of  the  Bible. 
There  we  find  measure  and  pattern  for  the  complete  personality — 
physical,  moral,  spiritual.  Therefore,  whether  we  conduct  our  studies 
at  home,  or  pursue  them  in  schools,  we  should  accompany  them  by 
a  hearty  study  of  the  Scripture.  Without  this  Bible  moulding  and 
establishing  our  mind,  we  shall  rave  like  madmen  in  '  oppositions  of 
unscientific  science;'  we  shall  divert  our  acquired  powers  to  evil 
uses,  and  we  shall  end  our  lives  without  having  found  anything  to 
afford  us  satisfaction.  Let  me  remind  you  of  what  Addison  says  in 
the  Spectator :  '  Nothing  can  be  a  greater  disgrace  to  reason  than 
that  men,  who  are  persuaded  of  these  two  different  states  of  being, 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  135 

should  be  perpetually  employed  in  providing  for  a  life  of  threescore 
years  and  ten,  and  neglecting  to  make  provision  for  that  which,  after 
many  myriads  of  years,  will  be  still  new  and  still  beginning.'  Plato 
says,  concerning  God,  that  'Truth  is  his  body,  and  light  his  shadow.' 
For  light  and  truth,  we  must  go  to  God  as  revealed  in  his  Book;  and 
if  we  have  not  light  and  truth,  we  shall  be  misled  and  stumble.  A 
second  important  remark  that  I  would  make  to  those  who,  amid 
many  hindrances,  pursue  their  studies  at  home,  is,  that  they  are  in 
great  danger  of  doing  themselves  injury  by  over-eagerness  in  study. 
They  must  not  expect  to  proceed  as  rapidly  as  do  those  at  school, 
who  have  nothing  to  do  but  study,  and  who  have  the  advantage  of 
the  help  of  teachers,  and  the  association  of  companions  in  their  pur- 
suits. The  self-educator  may  in  the  end  learn  more  thoroughly,  and 
be  able  better  to  use  what  he  learns,  but  he  must  generally  be  con- 
tent with  slower  progress.  Those  who  educate  themselves,  and  must 
at  the  same  time  pursue  work  in  house,  shop  or  field,  must  take  care 
and  not  hurry  themselves.  The  body  will  be  broken  down,  and 
afford  but  poor  aid  to  the  restless  mind.  Canon  Farrar  says :  '  For 
physical  sins  there  is  no  remission.'  That  is  very  important  to 
remember. 

"  Now,  having  guarded  my  subject  on  the  side  of  religion  and  on 
that  of  physical  care,  I  will  devote  myself  to  the  purely  intellectual 
view  of  self-education." 

"Sir,"  said  Laura,  "is  it  true  that  self-educated  men  and  women 
are  the  best  educated?  How  far  can  we  go  alone?" 
.  "There  are  limits  to  self-education  —  limits  which  even  the 
brightest  genius  will  recognize,  and  which  the  mediocre  mind  will 
soon  reach.  Jt  is  said  of  Blaise  Pascal,  that  at  twelve  years  old  he 
had  discovered  for  himself  the  first  thirty-two  propositions  of 
Euclid.  He  had  for  himself  formulated  geometrical  definitions,  and 
proceeded  thus  far  in  mathematics  as  a  true  discoverer.  Consider, 
however,  that  a  Blaise  Pascal  is  not  a  product  of  every  age,  but  such 
minds  seem  to  be  created  to  hint  to  us  the  capacities  of  intellect 
and  the  heights  to  which  it  may  attain  in  the  future  world." 


136  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"But,  sir,"  demanded  Henry,  "who  taught  Euclid?" 

"  Thales  and  Pythagoras  had  preceded  him  as  discoverers  in  pure 
mathematics,  but  much  that  he  presented  to  the  world  in  systematic 
form  he  discovered  for  himself.  These  things  are  written  for  our 
encouragement,  showing  us  how  great  things  men  may  reach  by 
persistent  effort. 

"Aided  by  the  abundant  and  clearly  written  books  on  nearly  all 
sciences — books  that  are  ever  within  our  reach — we  may  make  large 
progress  in  almost  any  branch,  without  having  a  teacher.  The  amount 
of  our  attainments  will  be  measured  by  our  capacity,  time  and  perse- 
verance. Those  who  are  studying  at  home  can,  when  they  find 
themselves  in  a  dilemma,  get  assistance  by  applying  to  some  edu- 
cated person  in  their  neighborhood,  to  some  teacher  in  a  popular 
school,  or  to  the  author  of  the  book  that  they  are  studying.  There 
is  a  free-masonry  in  scholarship,  and  those  who  have  made  some 
progress  are,  as  far  as  I  know,  ready  to  help  beginners,  and  are  glad 
to  be  applied  to  for  information." 

"  I  think,"  said  Robert,  "  that  young  people  who  are  studying 
alone,  because  they  cannot  afford  to  go  to  school,  may  have  some 
difficulty  in  getting  proper  books.  Books  are  expensive." 

"  So  they  are,  if  bought  at  expensive  places ;  but  there  are  ways 
of  getting  text-books  cheaply.  First,  some  student  who  has  finished 
college,  or  some  professional  man,  whose  school  books  are  yet  in 
his  possession,  may  be  glad  to  sell  them  for  a  trifle,  and  would  even 
take  the  pay  by  instalments.  In  New  York  and  Philadelphia  there 
are  stores  where  '  shop-worn '  text-books  are  sold  at  a  large  discount 
to  students.  All  our  great  cities  have  second-hand  book  stores,  where 
works  on  all  subjects  can  be  bought  at  a  low  figure,  or  where  you 
can  exchange  volumes,  which  you  have  finished  using,  for  those 
which  you  need.  It  is  an  old  saying,  '  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is 
a  way,'  and  that  is  very  true  of  text-books.  Many  a  farmer's  lad 
could  raise  enough  in  the  fence-corners  and  waste  places  of  the  farm 
to  buy  him  all  the  books  that  he  could  use  in  the  winter,  and  for 
want  of  which  he  may  be  making  a  great  outcry." 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  137 

"You  have  told  us  that  we  can  study  by  ourselves,  and  you  have 
made  it  seem  possible  to  get  the  books,"  said  Thomas;  "tell  us  next 
how  to  get  the  time." 

"Spare  time  is  the  product  of  method"  said  the  Stranger;  "we  can, 
by  good  order  and  perseverance,  virtually  create  time.  '  We  have  all 
the  time  there  is,'  twenty-four  hours  in  the  day  for  every  man,  and 
yet  some  people  have  practically  a  deal  more  time  than  others.  The 
young  person  who  is  fond  of  study,  and  resolved  to  become  a  good 
scholar,  though  obliged  to  remain  at  home  to  work,  or  from  want 
of  means,  will  so  arrange  his  tasks  as  to  get  time  for  study.  For  this 
he  should  not  rob  himself  of  sleep ;  and  he  will  be  better  off  if  he 
makes  what  time  he  can  in  daylight  for  his  books.  It  is  better  to 
rise  early  than  to  sit  up  late,  always  provided  one  does  not  begin  to 
study  on  an  empty  stomach ;  and  that  one  does  not  belong  to  the 
exceptional  humans,  who  are  really  made  ill  by  early  rising.  All 
experienced  physicians  will  tell  you  that  there  are  such  people. 
When  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  work  to  be  completed,  then  by 
doing  that  work  methodically,  in  a  thorough  and  time-saving  way, 
it  will  leave  a  margin  of  time  for  study." 

"  But  sometimes,"  said  Robert,  "  the  people  in  the  family  do  not 
think  that  the  book-time  should  be  sacred  time.  If  a  person  is  sitting 
down  to  study,  then  he  is  supposed  to  be  at  leisure,  and  can  be 
interrupted,  or  called  off  for  any  little  thing." 

"  That  is  an  error,  and  it  would  be  well  to  have  an  understanding 
about  it.  Parents  and  friends  should  be  glad  to  see  studious  dispo- 
sitions, and  should  try  and  make  all  needful  demands  before  the 
study  is  begun,  so  as  not  to  infringe  on  the  hours  carefully  saved 
for  books ;  and  yet  I  would  not  think  much  of  a  young  man  who, 
because  he  had  finished  his  work  and  seated  himself  at  his  book, 
would  be  willing  to  see  his  mother  or  sister  carrying  in  an  armful 
of  wood,  a  hod  of  coal,  or  a  pail  of  water;  nor  would  I  esteem  a 
young  girl  who,  in  her  zeal  for  learning,  after  she  had  '  done  her 
share '  of  the  work,  would  see  her  pale  mother  toiling  on,  when  she 
has  a  headache  and  should  be  in  bed,  or  her  father  or  brother  starting 


138  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

off  to  the  market  or  store  with  a  torn  coat,  a  glove  out  at  the  finger, 
or  a  buttonless  shirt-collar.  As  I  told  you  before,  home  study  is 
subject  to  hindrances  and  interruptions,  and  you  must  not  expect  to 
get  on  so  fast  as  at  school.  And  yet  these  very  interruptions  may 
be  intellectually  serviceable,  in  giving  your  mind  time  to  digest  and 
assimilate  the  acquired  facts." 

"I  have  noticed,"  said  Catherine,  "that  when  young  folks  are 
studying  at  home,  even  if  preparing  their  lessons  for  school,  that 
people  divert  their  attention,  chat  with  them,  and  make  demands  on 
them  thoughtlessly." 

"  That  is  all  very  wrong :  and  parents  should  take  especial  care  not 
to  cultivate  in  their  children  idle  fashions  at  their  tasks  or  a  habit 
of  half  attention.  It  is  most  harmful." 

"  You  will  remember,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  some  young  people, 
who  are  trying  to  educate  themselves,  are  not  living  at  home  among 
those  who  are  interested  in  them,  and  try  to  help  them ;  but  they 
may  be  out  at  service  ;  and  some  people  are  such  drivers  that  they 
never  can  get  enough  out  of  a  person,  and  if  work  is  done  quickly  it 
does  not  secure  leisure,  but  merely  puts  a  premium  on  getting  more 
work.  Such  folks  seem  to  forget  that  a  '  hired  person  '  has  ne.rves, 
heart,  or  brain ;  they  look  at  them  as  mere  machines,  and  try  to  get 
all  that  they  can  from  them." 

"  In  such  unfortunate  cases  it  is  well  to  have  a  clear  understand- 
ing as  to  what  will  be  demanded.  There  are  some  persons  who 
disgrace  human  nature,  just  as  you  describe,  Samuel.  Then  one 
must  bargain  for  a  set  amount  of  work  to  be  done,  or  a  set  amount 
of  time  to  be  reserved,  or  must  look  for  a  place  among  reasonable 
people." 

"  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  ask  why  we  should  study,"  said 
Laura,  "for  those  who  are  willing  to  assume  the  burden  of  self- 
education  feel  the  value  of  knowledge,  and  only  love  of  learning 
would  drive  them  to  such  efforts  to  secure  it." 

"  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  any  of  you  as  illiterate  as  Will  Honey- 
comb," said  the  Stranger,  "who  writes  to  the  Spectator  about  'an 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  139 

English  book  called  Herodotus/  which  he  had  found  in  a  window, 
and  supposed  to  be  a  great  rarity.  Nor  would  I  have  you  proclaiming 
your  ignorance  by  your  misuse  of  the  English  language  every  time 
that  you  open  your  mouth.  At  this  day,  when  books  are  cheap,  and 
schools  are  numerous,  when  country  and  public  schools  are  car- 
ried to  so  high  a  degree  of  perfection,  it  really  is  disgraceful  for  any 
person  to  be  markedly  ignorant.  The  fact  is,  it  is  only  by  knowing 
something  that  one  can  now  hold  his  own  in  the  world." 

"  Don't  you  think,"  cried  Thomas,  "  that  there  should  bean  educa- 
tional limit  to  the  franchise  ?  " 

"And  only  an  educational  limit,"  said  Catherine.  "Just  think 
of  voters  who  cannot  read  their  ballot ;  people  intermeddling  in  gov- 
ernment, and  making  rulers,  when  they  themselves  cannot  read  the 
papers,  and  know  nothing  of  public  affairs?" 

"  These  are  great  questions,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  and  the  world, 
even  in  the  nineteenth  century  haste,  cannot  answer  all  its  great 
questions  at  once.  But  we  shall  help  all  problems  to  their  solution, 
if  we  each  one  make  of  ourselves  the  very  best  that  we  are  compe- 
tent to  be.  Of  ignorance,  a  Spanish  traveller  makes  this  remark : 
'  This  is  the  true  and  insatiable  Devil,  cause  of  more  than  half  the 
crimes  that  dishonor  and  destroy  the  human  race.'" 

"  You  were  speaking  but  now  of  ungrammatical  language  and  mis- 
pronunciation," said  Samuel,  "and  I  wonder  that,  when  you  were 
talking  to  us  some  months  since,  you  did  not  put  English  grammar 
among  studies  that  were  indispensable.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  as 
needful  as  a  knowledge  of  history  or  geography." 

"  Very  true.  There  is  nothing  that  so  promptly  stamps  a  person's 
social  status  as  their  speech.  One  knows  a  peacock  as  well  by  his 
dissonant  scream  as  by  his  splendid  plumage.  The  finest  of  dress 
and  the  most  dashing  turn-out,  accompanied  by  l  you  beant,'  lhe  ain't,' 
by  singular  verbs  wedded  to  plural  nouns,  or  by  double  negatives, 
proclaim  'shoddy,'  as  promptly  as  if  we  had  seen  the  transformation 
to  the  millionnaire  performed.  Even  the  plainest  dress  and  manners, 
the  most  humble  occupation,  united  to  careful,  elegant  and  accurate 


140  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

speech,  cannot  deceive  us  as  to  the  speaker's  good  birth  and  breed- 
ing. Young  people  should  guard  themselves  against  a  habit  of 
erroneous  expressions ;  against  slang  and  vulgarisms.  Among  our 
most  important  studies  we  should  put  that  of  language.  The  young 
person  intent  on  self-education  should  have  among  his  books,  and  in 
a  prominent  place,  an  English  dictionary,  a  grammar,  and  a  rhetoric. 
To  these  he  should  add,  as  he  can,  such  works  as  '  The  Queen's 
English,'  'The  Dean's  English,'  'The  Dean  and  the  Queen,'  and 
'Trench  on  the  Study  of  Words.'  These  books  should  be  read  and 
re-read." 

"  Tell  us  what  studies  we  can  best  pursue  by  ourselves,"  said  John 
Frederick. 

"  In  this  you  will  mainly  be  guided  by  your  taste.  You  will  fol- 
low the  bias  of  your  own  mind.  Some  have  an  inclining  toward 
mathematics — of  which  Plato  says  that  'they  are  the  best  remedy  for 
mental  diseases.'  Others  have  a  natural  gift  for  learning  languages: 
they  acquire  foreign  tongues  as  by  intuition.  Natural  sciences  attract 
others.  Study  what  you  will,  only  be  thorough.  Do  not  get  a  poor 
smattering  of  some  science  or  pursuit  merely  to  say  you  '  have  been 
through  it,'  or  to  talk  vainly  about  it.  Know  what  you  claim  to 
know." 

"  Tell  us,  now,  how  we  shall  learn  languages  without  a  master," 
said  Laura. 

"There  are  two  ways  of  learning  a  language.  First,  one  can  learn 
to  speak  and  write  a  language.  Here,  correct  use  of  idioms  and  ac- 
curate pronunciation  are  indispensable.  Let  me  tell  you  plainly  that 
it  is  not  possible  to  learn  a  language  in  this  way,  except  in  the 
country  where  it  is  spoken.  Masters  may  claim  to  give  you  '  correct 
pronunciation  and  a  fluent  conversational  knowledge;'  you  may 
think  that  you  know  how  to  speak  French,  German,  Spanish,  or 
Italian,  like  a  native.  Go  to  the  countries  where  these  languages 
belong,  and  try  it.  They  may  guess  out  what  you  mean;  your  French 
will  most  surely  be  as  was  the  fair  Prioress'  in  the  Canterbury  Tales, 
the  French  of  'Stratford  Atte  Bow.'  There  is  probably  not  a  teacher 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  141 

of  French  or  German  that  is  not  ready  to  swear  that  they  can  make 
you  speak  like  a  native.  But  take  any  half  dozen  of  these  valuable 
apostles  of  foreign  pronunciation,  and  they  will  each  decry  the  in- 
structions of  the  other  five.  What  is  to  be  done,  then,  when  doctors 
disagree?  Your  9nly  way  of  getting  a  conversational  knowledge  of 
French,  or  German,  is  to  live  in  a  French  or  German  family,  or 
reside  in  France  or  Germany.  A  conversational  knowledge  of 
French,  accuracy  in  French  or  German  composition,  and  a  full  ac- 
quaintance with  idioms,  is  needful  to  a  teacher  of  these  languages. 
But  there  is  a  second  method  of  learning  a  language,  called  the 
literary  method,  which  is  growing  in  favor  with  all  scholars.  This 
method  demands  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  written  language,  so 
that  one  can  fluently  translate  what  he  finds  in  it,  and  bring  the 
treasures  of  foreign  tongues  into  his  own.  Scott  says  that,  teaching 
aside,  this  is  our  object  in  learning  a  foreign  tongue:  we  want  its 
literary  treasures.  Prescott  and  Macaulay  also  indorse  this  method 
of  studying  a  language.  Lately  a  congress  of  English  teachers 
urged  'that  pupils  should  be  taught  to  translate  fluently,  and  to 
parse  a  language,  and  that  time  should  not  be  wasted  on  pronuncia- 
tion and  spoken  idioms,  that  could  never  be  obtained  except  in  lands 
where  they  were  native.'  Now  this  literary  method  of  learning  a 
language  is  practically  that  which  we  pursue  in  regard  to  the  dead 
languages.  It  is  true,  that  one  learns  a  little  Greek  and  Latin  com- 
position, but  not  one  in  ten  thousand  continues  this,  except,  indeed, 
teachers  in  constant  practice.  One  who  can  read  the  classics  fluently 
is  more  than  an  average  classical  scholar.  This  literary  method  of 
learning  a  language  is  quite  within  our  reach  without  a  teacher. 
Let  me  tell  you  how  Macaulay,  Smeaton,  and  some  other  gifted  lin- 
guists, learned  languages.  They  took  a  grammar,  a  dictionary,  and 
a  Bible,  in  the  language  which  they  meant  to  acquire.  Macaulay 
says  that  six  weeks,  with  these  helps,  would  make  him  master  of  a 
modern  tongue,  so  that  he  could  read  all  its  literature.  Dr.  Smeaton, 
by  this  method,  learned,  in  three  weeks,  Dutch,  which  is  difficult. 
Three  months,  when  two  hours  a  day  are  devoted  to  the  study,  should 


142  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

make  one  able  to  read  a  foreign  tongue  correctly  and  rapidly ;  and 
after  that  three-quarters  of  an  hour  daily  of  reading  will  keep  the 
language  up." 

"  Elihu  Burrit,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  learned  a  language  by 
taking  a  dictionary,  a  grammar,  and  some  book  in  the  language,  and 
beginning  to  read  at  once.  He  began  Celto-Breton  by  writing  a 
letter  in  that  tongue,  and  Danish  by  deciphering  a  will.  He  was 
willing  to  spend  a  whole  morning  on  two  lines  of  Homer,  if  that 
much  time  were  needed:  for  that  much  well  mastered,  the  rest  would 
be  easier." 

"  I  do  not  know  as  I  understand  how  you  use  these  text-books," 
said  Catherine. 

"  Take  the  grammar — those  on  the  Ollendorf  system  are  good— 
and  read  it,  or  study  it,  about  half  through:  thus  you  get  the  pro- 
nouns, the  participles,  the  declension  of  the  nouns,  and  the  changes 
of  the  verb;  also  the  conjunctions  and  adverbs.  Then  begin  on  your 
Bible — with  the  New  Testament — and  read  with  the  help  of  the  dic- 
tionary; go  on  with  the  other  half  of  the  grammar;  then  review  the 
grammar,  and  parse  eight  or  ten  sentences  each  day.  After  the  New 
Testament,  take  the  Old  Testament,  and,  in  conjunction  with  this, 
get  some  easy  book  in  the  language,  a  story  or  history,  if  possible. 
Then  get  a  newspaper  or  two  in  the  tongue  you  are  learning.  Do 
not  read  the  poetry  of  a  language  until  you  are  familiar  with  the 
tongue,  and  have  read  much  of  its  prose:  for  the  poetry  is  always 
more  difficult  than  the  prose,  unless  one  finds  some  jingling  verses, 
made  for  reading  lessons.  I  know  this  advice  is  contrary  to  the 
practice  of  teachers,  who  hurry  their  pupils  into  Dante,  or  Racine,  or 
Moliere,  over  which  the  tyros  bungle  and  haggle,  until  these  works 
have  neither  charm  nor  strength.  But  the  teachers  in  this  are  at 
fault,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  the  fact  that  most  of  their  pupils  find  no 
interest  in  the  tongues  they  study,  and  drop  them  as  soon  as  they 
leave  school.  In  fact,  they  are  taught  languages  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  them  helpless  in  studying  alone." 

"  I  can  see  the  value  of  that  rule.     A  foreigner  learning  our  Ian- 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW   TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  143 

guage  would  find  Milton,  Shakespeare,  Spenser  and  Dryden,  or  even 
our  modern  poets,  hard  work,"  said  Laura. 

"  I  never  thought  of  making  the  Bible  a  text-book,"  said  Violet. 

"  You  will  find  it  a  good  plan.  The  whole  French  army  were 
taught  to  read  out  of  the  Gospel  of  John;  an  eminent  Scotch  divine 
attributes  to  learning  to  read  in  the  book  of  Proverbs  the  sagacity 
of  the  Scotch  people.  Ypu  will  be  both  master  and  lover  of  that 
language  which  you  have  read  in  its  Bible.  Moreover,  the  Bible 
itself  will  have  new  beauties  and  deeper  meanings  when  you  can  and 
do  read  it  in  several  languages." 

"  One  could  in  this  way  learn  several  languages  easily." 

"Yes;  but  you  must  remember  not  to  throw  the  tongue  first 
learned  aside,  while  you  pursue  the  next,  for  there  is  nothing  in 
which  we  get  'rusty'  sooner  than  a  foreign  language.  Once  learned, 
a  tongue  should  not  be  neglected.  We  should  read  in  it  every 
day,  if  only  for  fifteen  minutes.  This  suggestion  will  show  you 
the  need  of  regularity  in  home  study.  It  must  be  pursued  by 
method!' 

"As  to  that  method,  tell  me,"  said  Violet,  "  when  we  undertake  to 
study  at  home,  should  we  set  so  many  hours  that  we  will  study,  or 
so  much  ground  that  we  will  get  over  each  day?  " 

"  You  can  do  either,  but  probably  it  will  be  best  to  set  your  limit 
in  matter.  And  be  sure  and  do  not  take  too  much,  especially  when 
you  are  beginning.  If  you  resolve  to  go  over  too  much  ground,  you 
may  get  a  habit  of  carelessness,  or  you  may  discourage  yourself.  It 
is  of  prime  importance  to  be  thorough  and  hopeful.  Suppose  you 
set  yourself  three  pages  of  French,  or  fifty  lines  of  Virgil,  or  an  ode 
in  Horace,  for  each  day.  This  will  give  you  eighteen  pages;  three 
hundred  lines;  six  odes  a  week.  But  some  days  your  task  will 
be  easier,  or  your  mind  more  active,  or  you  will  have  more* 
time,  and  you  overstep  your  limit,  and  so  gain  a  margin  for 
some  day  when  duties  curtail  your  study  time,  or  you  are  ill, 
or  some  one  needs  your  help.  It  is  well,  too,  to  have,  as 
nearly  as  you  can,  some  set  hour  for  your  studies — and  this, 


144  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

good  management  and .  diligence  will  be  likely  to  secure  for 
you." 

"  I  wish,"  said  George,  the  son  of  the  minister,  "  that  you  would 
say  something  to  us  about  the  study  of  natural  sciences." 

"Now  we  come  indeed  to  a  delightful  theme,"  said  the  Stranger: 

"  First.  The  natural  sciences  offer  perhaps  the  most  promising  and 
attractive  field  of  any  study.  Here  there  is  room  for  new  discoveries, 
and  possibility  of  high  achievements. 

"  Second.  The  natural  sciences  are,  of  all  studies,  the  most  inde- 
pendent of  the  help  of  a  teacher. 

"  Third.  No  other  studies  offer  such  opportunities  to  those  who 
•have  ill  health,  or  who  are  engaged  in  other  business. 

"  Fourth.  No  studies  more  cultivate  the  reasoning  powers  and  en- 
courage quickness  of  observation,  than  do  the  natural  sciences. 

"  Fifth.  No  pursuits  have  been  more  productive  in  practical  good 
results. 

"  Sixth.  Here  is  the  field  for  the  true  aristocracy  of  talent.  In  the 
pursuit  of  the  natural  sciences,  and  wearing  honors  gained  therein, 
we  find  beside  the  choice  pupils  of  universities,  and  dukes,  and 
barons,  and  lords,  whom  'blue  blood'  has  not  spoiled  for  useful- 
ness, Hugh  Miller  the  stone-mason ;  Dick  the  baker,  of  Thurso ; 
Peach  the  English  coast  guardsman ;  Edwards  the  Banff  cobbler 
and  botanist.  Here  are  pursuits  open  to  all,  especially  to  farm 
workers,  whose  employment  leads  them  out  where  stones  unfold  the 
geologic  history  of  the  world,  and  plants  grow,  and  insects  and 
creeping  things  start  up  at  every  step,  or  are  turned  out  of  their 
homes  by  every  cut  of  the  share  or  hoe.  Many  a  heart  has  been 
kept  frank  and  pure  by  a  habitual  search  after  and  study  of  flowers 
and  fossils.  The  study  of  natural  history  in  hours  of  relaxation 
has  made  shining  lights  of  lives  that  otherwise  would  have  been  lost 
in  obscurity." 

"  I  was  reading  an  argument  of  Charles  Kingsley,  in  behalf  of  the 
study  of  natural  sciences,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  and  I  remember 
this  quotation :  '  Without  this  study,  you  can  hardly  keep  pace  with 


EDUCATION  ANJ)  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  145 

the  world  of  thought  around  you.  The  increased  knowledge  of  this 
planet  on  which  we  live  is  very  valuable  just  now;  valuable  certainly 
to  those  who  do  not  wish  their  children  and  younger  brothers  to 
know  more  of  the  universe  than  they  do.'  " 

"  He  also  says,"  remarked  Peter,  "that  'ignorance  of  the  primary 
laws  of  nature,  and  the  ordinary  facts  of  science,  should  be  looked 
on  as  a  defect.  As  reasonable  beings  we  ought  to  know  something 
of,  and  reason  of,  the  globe  on  which  we  live.' " 

"As  we  have  just  been  told,"  said  George,  "  this  kind  of  study 
pays  in  its  useful  results.  Consider  what  Edison,  the  railroad  news- 
vender,  has  made  of  himself,  and  done  for  the  world,  by  dogged, 
self-denying,  scientific  study.  The  secrets  of  nature  are  not  yet  ex- 
hausted ;  she  has  yet  precious  gems  for  those  who  are  willing  to  dig 
for  them." 

"  On  this  important  subject,  let  me  read  to  you  from  a  little  work 
of  Kingsley's,  called  'Town  Geology,'"  said  the  Stranger :"' Not 
sense  and  reason,  but  nonsense  and  unreason,  prejudice  and  greed, 
fancy  and  haste,  have  led  to  such  results  as  might  be  expected — to 
superstitions,  persecutions,  wars,  famines,  pestilences,  hereditary  dis- 
eases, poverty,  waste,  waste  incalculable,  and  often  waste  irremedi- 
able, waste  of  life,  labor,  capital,  raw  material,  soil,  manure,  every 
bounty  that  God  hath  bestowed  on  man,  till,  as  in  the  Eastern  Medi- 
terranean, whole  countries,  naturally  productive,  and  of  the  finest  in 
the  world,  seem  ruined  forever.  All  because  man  will  not  learn  and 
obey  the  physical  laws  of  the  universe;  laws  which  surround  us  like 
walls  of  adamant.' " 

"  Well,"  said  George,  "  my  preference  has  always  been  for  the 
study  of  natural  history,  and  I  shall  be  glad  of  some  hints  as  to  how 
to  pursue  it." 

"  You  must  use  your  own  eyes,  and  the  eyes  of  others,  and  call 
into  service  collections  and  drawings.  Whatever  branch  of  natural 
history  you  pursue,  botany,  geology,  entymology,  conchology,  or 
any  of  the  long  line  of  ologies,  you  should  make  for  yourself  a  cabinet 
collection  in  your  specialty.  If  you  cannot  afford  the  luxury  of  a 
10 


146  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

fifty-dollar  case,  or  even  to  get  the  cabinet-maker  to  fashion  you  a 
common  pine  case,  what  matter  ?  You  may  pick  up  at  some  sale  an 
old  book-case,  or  you  can  make  yourself  from  boards  or  packing-boxes 
a  very  good  cabinet.  Plane  your  wood  smooth  ;  put  it  together 
firmly;  cover  your  shelves  alternately  with  white  and  dark  paper  to 
bring  out  to  the  best  advantage  your  specimens.  Have  your  shelves 
a  foot  wide,  a  foot  apart,  and,  until  you  can  afford  glass  doors,  have 
a  curtain  of  cloth  or  paper.  Rob  the  fowls  of  soft  feathers  enough 
to  make  some  very  small,  delicate  dusters  for  your  specimens,  and 
your  cabinet  is  ready.  You  need  also  a  drawer  in  your  cabinet,  or 
a  box  on  it,  for  your  drawings ;  and  if  your  specialty  is  botany,  you 
need  another  drawer  for  your  herbariums.  You  will  soon  find  that 
friends  and  acquaintances  will  become  interested,  and  your  collections 
will  grow  apace.  As  you  gather  specimens  in  your  own  line  of  study, 
do  not  reject  natural  curiosities  of  any  sort.  You  may  be  looking 
for  a  fossil,  and  come  across  a  wasp's  nest,  a  cocoon  of  singular 
make,  or  a  rare  plant.  Secure  these  for  trade.  You  may  hear  of 
a  botanist  or  an  entymologist  who  has  picked  up  the  very  fossil  you 
were  looking  for.  It  is  pleasant  also  to  have  on  hand  valuables  with 
which  to  enrich  other  scientists.  Our  wasp's  nest,  or  our  chrysalis, 
may  make  some  entymologist  happier  than  a  king.  Once  you  begin 
to  study  natural  science,  you  will  not  go  blindly  through  the  world ; 
sight  will  be  a  tenfold  treasure  to  you.  You  will  prove  it  true  as 
was  well  sung  of  Agassiz: 

"  'And  he  wandered  away,  and  away 

With  Nature,  that  dear  old  nurse, 
Who  sang  to  him  night  and  day 
The  songs  of  the  Universe. 

"  'And  whenever  the  way  seemed  long, 

Or  his  heart  began  to  fail, 
She  would  sing  a  more  wonderful  song, 
Or  tell  a  more  marvellous  tale.' 

If  you  are  expecting  to  purSue  a  branch  of  natural  science  thoroughly, 
you  must  bring  into  requisition  your  pencil." 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  147 

"  But  suppose  we  do  not  know  how  to  draw,"  said  Violet. 

"  By  a  little  practice  you  can  learn  to  use  a  pencil  well  enough 
for  such  drawings  as  you  will  really  need.  The  better  that  you 
draw,  the  more  beautifully  you  can  shade ;  and  the  more  clearly  you 
can  outline,  of  course,  the  better;  but  the  real  necessities  of  the 
case  can  be  easily  met." 

"And  what  are  these  necessities?"  asked  Robert. 

"There  will  often  be  circumstances  regarding  any  curiosity  which 
you  find,  which  can  only  be  preserved  by  the  pencil.  Some  re- 
markable vegetable  development,  if  you  are  a  botanist,  some  singu- 
larity about  an  insect,  its  habitat,  or  its  motions,  some  odd  bedding 
of  a  fossil,  or  a  singular  formation  of  a  rock,  or  boulder,  or  trend 
of  land,  all  worth  keeping,  needful  to  retain,  but  outside  of  the  scope 
of  the  cabinet.  Here  the  pencil,  describing  more  clearly  than  the 
pen,  comes  into  use.  It  is  by  this  careful  observation  of  facts,  this 
preservation  of  facts,  that  they  may  be  compared,  and  reasoned  upon, 
that  one  becomes  a  proficient,  and  a  discoverer  in  natural  science." 

"  But  what  is  the  practical  value  of  these  studies?  "  said  Peter. 

"  They  produce  charming  books,  keep  people  innocently  busy, 
and  make  certain  persons  famous;  but  have  they  a  cash  value?" 

"  I  shall  refer  you  to  but  two  or  three  instances,"  said  the  Stranger. 
"  Few  peers  of  England  have  so  just  a  title  to  the  gratitude  of  their 
country  as  the  noble  lord  who  introduced  from  Sweden  the  culture 
of  the  turnip.  No  financier  of  Germany  has  done  so  much  for  the 
pecuniary  resources  of  the  country,  as  the  citizen  who  discovered  the 
way  to  manufacture  beet  sugar.  Remember,  for  a  moment,  the  tre- 
mendous importance  of  the  india  rubber  business,  its  incalculable 
advantages,  its  immense  resources — and  whence  did  it  arise  ?  All 
from  the  close  observation  of  a  botanical  and  scientific  traveller,  who, 
in  a  tropic  land,  remarked  that  the  wagoners  had  curious  whipstocks 
of  hardened  gum.  These  he  sent  to  a  London  chemist,  and  thus 
sending  he  bestowed  upon  the  world  millions  of  money. 

"  From  the  laboratory  of  the  chemist  descends  upon  the  age  a 
golden  shower  of  "gifts,  new  substances,  and  old  substances  applied 


148  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

to  new  uses.  New  food,  new  clothing,  new  hues,  new  fuel,  new 
lights,  new  material  for  building,  new  motors,  are  all  brought  to  us 
by  the  neophytes  who  crowd  to  the  great  workshop  of  nature,  pry 
into  her  arcana,  and  come  forth  bearing  her  secrets — and  her 
blessing." 

"  To  pursue  the  natural  sciences,  we  need  many  books,  even  if  we 
can  in  a  measure  do  without  the  living  teacher,"  said  Henry. 

"  Books  on  all  branches  of  natural  science  are  numerous,"  said 
their  friend.  "You  can  get  them  by  exchange,  by  a  judicious  out- 
lay of  what  money  you  have,  by  borrowing,  if  you  handle  carefully 
and  return  promptly.  Let  me  warn  you  not  to  be  led  away,  hastily, 
by  the  books  that  you  read,  to  adopt  rash  and  unfounded  theories. 
You  must  compare  author  with  author,  and  particularly  author  with 
nature,  and  do  not  accept  statements  merely  because  they  are 
printed.  In  the  physical  world,  statements  are  capable  of  proof,  and 
sometimes  writers,  in  their  zeal  or  vainglory,  declare  a  result  at- 
tained, when  really  they  are  but  half-way  on  with  a  matter,  and  the 
true  end  will  be  a  very  different  affair.  I  should  advise  you  to  be 
careful  of  following  those  teachers  who  begin  their  instructions  by 
scorning  revelation.  These  teachers  have  wearied  the  world,  not 
only  by  their  statements,  but  by  their  retractions." 

"  Do  you  not  think  it  is  very  useful  when  you  are  pursuing  a 
study  to  read  the  lives  of  those  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  this 
same  pursuit?  "  asked  Samuel. 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  helpful.  You  learn  their  methods;  you 
are  warned  by  their  mistakes,  cheered  by  mutual  sympathies,  and 
encouraged  by  their  success." 

"  Sometimes  one  is  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  correspondent  who 
pursues  their  own  line  of  investigation,"  said  Robert. 

"  This  is  also  very  valuable;  and  do  not  be  bashful  about  opening 
a  correspondence,  if  you  hear  of  some  one  whose  interests  are  the 
same  as  your  own." 

"  I  was  last  night  at  Deacon  Grames',"  said  Samuel,  "and  he  said 
he  '  was  afraid  you  would  do  us  more  harm  than  good.'  He  thought 
we  should  get  keyed  up  too  high" 


EDUCATION. AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT.  149 

"  Whatever  did  he  mean?  "  cried  Catherine,  in  the  midst  of  a  burst 
of  laughter. 

"  It  is  a  case  of 'cobbler  to  his  last,'"  said  John  Frederick;  "the 
deacon  pitches  the  tunes  in  meeting." 

"  I  know  what  he  meant,"  said  Robert.  "  The  deacon  has  a  sus- 
picion of  education  ;  his  idea  is  that  knowledge  is  dangerous.  He 
says  that  learned  people  get  hard-hearted,  sceptical  and  irreligious. 
I  think  any  one  who  tried  to  educate  themselves  at  the  deacon's 
house  would  have  hard  work,  for  stumbling-blocks  and  hindrances 
would  be  forever,  kindly,  but  persistently,  put  in  their  way." 

"  History,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  will  not  bear  out  the  deacon's 
theories.  One  says,  'an  undevout  astronomer  is  mad,'  and  any  study 
should  lead  us  not  from,  but  toward  God.  The  finest  minds  have 
been  religious  minds.  It  is  true,  that  among  persons  of  very  high 
culture,  irreligious  people  and  atheists  have  been  found;  but  their 
irreligion  and  atheism  may  be  traced  directly  to  other  causes  than 
iheir  intellectual  culture.  Where  a  child  has  been  badly  brought 
up — has  had  irreligion  and  scepticism  impressed  in  early  life — it  may 
be  more  than  mental  training  can  do  to  counteract  these.  Home 
training  often  develops  what  Addison  describes  as  '  a  state  of  tem- 
perance, sobriety  and  justice,  without  devotion;  and  it  is  a  cold, 
lifeless,  insipid  condition  of  virtue,  rather  to  be  styled  a  philosophy 
than  a  religion.'  If  you  find  a  cultivated  person,  lacking  in  relig- 
iousness, before  you  begin  to  accuse  his  cultivation,  look  at  his 
home  and  early  training.  These  are  the  powers  that  tell  on  soul. 
'  Devotion,'  says  Addison,  'seldom  dies  in  the  mind  that  has  received 
an  early  tincture  of  it.  Though  it  may  seem  to  be  extinguished  for 
a  time  by  the  cares  of  the  world,  the  heats  of  youth,  or  the  allure- 
ments of  vice,  it  generally  breaks  out,  and  discovers  itself  again, 
when  discretion,  consideration,  age  or  misfortunes,  have  brought  the 
man  to  himself.' " 

"  What  shall  we  say  of  other  branches  of  education  which  we  may 
pursue  at  home?"  said  Laura — "history,  literature." 

"  What  we  have  said  of  some  applies  to  all.     There  is  about  the 


150  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

same  way  open  to  get  the  needed  books,  time,  help,  encouragement, 
for  one  branch  as  for  another." 

"  The  time,  after  all,  seems  the  thing  that  may  be  wanting,"  said 
George. 

"  That  is  because  you  do  not  appreciate  the  use  of  minutes 
and  the  value  of  little  opportunities.  D'Agnesseau  made  a  book 
during  the  minutes  when  his  wife  invariably  kept  him  waiting  for 
dinner." 

"And  what  shall  we  do  with  our  education  ?  "  said  Violet. 

"  Make  the  same  use  of  it  that  you  would  if  you  got  it  at  school, 
at  vast  expense.  Teach,  write,  turn  what  you  know  to  practical 
account.  Even  if  you  do  not  use  your  education  outwardly  in 
its  own  line,  it  will  be  of  use  inwardly,  and  in  making  you 
more  worthy  and  less  harmful  in  the  world.  Education  will  save 
you  from  committing  many  follies :  from  gossip,  from  superstition, 
from  extravagance.  It  will  improve  your  physical  and  mental 
health ;  you  will  suffer  less  from  melancholy  or  mania.  '  There 
is  no  greater  cause  of  melancholy  than  idleness  ;  no  better  cure 
for  it  than  business,'  says  Burton  in  his  'Anatomy  of  Melancholy.' 
Seneca  tells  us  that  '  it  is  better  to  do  something  than  nothing,' 
even  if  the  something  seems  small,  and  not  of  present  practical 
result." 

"  Well,"  said  Catherine,  "  I  have  heard  a  great  many  parents  com- 
plaining that  they  cannot  afford  to  educate  their  children ;  and  a 
great  many  young  folks  mourning  that  they  cannot  go  away  to 
school.  But  I  see  now  that  this  need  not  keep  them  from  being 
really  well  educated." 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  those  who  thus  complain 
are  not  making  the  best  use  of  what  opportunities  they  have. 
These  parents  are  not  teaching  their  children  all  that  they  them- 
selves know;  they  have  no  study-hours;  their  evenings  are  wasted. 
The  children  read  only  novels,  will  not  steadily  apply  themselves 
to  any  pursuit,  and  then  cry  out  at  their  disadvantages.  Any  one, 
in  this  age  and  in  this  country,  can  be  well  educated.  Parents 


EDUCATION  AND  HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT. 


151 


should  not  drop  their  own  school  studies,  but  should  keep  them 
up  for  the  sake  of  their  children,  to  help  them  on.  Every  one 
should  desire  to  increase  his  own  value  by  education.  Ignorance 
is  no  more  a  nurse  of  religion  than  penury  is  of  virtue.  Content  and 
cheerfulness  and  activity  come  to  us  when  we  have  made  the  best 
that  we  can  of  ourselves." 


CHAPTER    EIGHTH. 

EDUCATION    IN    SCHOOLS. 

.AVE  you  heard  the  news?"  said  Peter;  "the  saddler 
is  about  to  be  married.  Since  you  have  been  talk- 
ing here  to  us,  and  at  the  Corner  Grocery,  you 
have  given  him  so  much  more  cheerful  views  of 
life  that  he  begins  to  think  there  may  be  bread  for 
all,  and  he  ventures  on  matrimony." 

"  Yes,"  said  George  to  the  Stranger,  "  our  man  of  harness  lays  his 
marriage  entirely  at  your  door ;  but  we  think  that  the  kind  smiles 
of  the  young  woman  had  something  to  do  with  it." 

"  I  am  willing  to  shoulder  the  responsibility  of  the  marriage,  pro- 
vided he  has  made  a  good  choice,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"  It  is  a  prudent  choice  enough,"  said  Robert ;  "  and  as  this  news 
seems  to  open  the  subject  of  matrimony,  and  there  is  no  step  where 
we  can  make  more  serious  blunders,  suppose  you  talk  to  us  of  love 
and  marriage  this  morning?" 

"  No,  no,"  said  George ;  "  I  protest :  we  may  wait  two  or  three 
years  before  it  is  needful  to  talk  to  us  of  that ;  but  I  am  going  away 
to  school,  and  the  choice  of  a  school  is  left  to  myself;  I  came  here 
especially  to  talk  schools,  and  so  did  Violet,  and  John  Frederick." 

"Our  last  discussion  was  of  self-education,"  said  Catherine;  "let 
us  now  hear  about  school  education." 

"  I  am  glad  you  are   going  away  to  school,  George,"  said  the 

Stranger.     "School  life  is  a  very  pleasant  and   useful  period  of  our 

existence.     No  one  more  highly  appreciates  a  home  than  do  I.     No 

one  more  heartily  advocates  home  ties,  and  more  vigorously  insists 

(152) 


EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOLS.  153 

on  home  influence ;  but  after  all,  there  is  nothing  that  can  take  the 
place  of  life  in  a  large  school  during  part  of  our  youth.  I  do  not 
advise  keeping  young  people  away  from  home,  year  after  year,  sev- 
ered in  a  great  measure  from  filial  and  fraternal  ties  ;  and  still  I  do 
commend  a  portion  of  school  life  away  from  home  for  every  young 
person.  Some  parents,  fearing  that  the  health  or  morals  of  their 
children  may  be  damaged,  if  the  parental  oversight  is  remitted  for  a 
season,  educate  their  children  entirely  at  home.  This  might  be  the 
proper  plan  if  our  young  people  were  expecting  never  to  leave  their 
parents  when  they  reach  maturity.  But  as  their  later  years  must 
bring  them  an  experience  of  life  at  large,  it  is  well  that  their  educa- 
tion should  prepare  them  for  this  experience.  The  school  is  the 
world  in  miniature.  Its  temptations,  troubles  and  triumphs ;  its 
friendships,  pleasures  and  rivalries;  its  routine,  its  business,  its  respon- 
sibilities, are  all  patterned  on  that  wider  world  into  which  we  shall 
inevitably  be  thrown." 

"  I  gather  from  this  that  you  do  not  think  that  young  people 
should  go  from  home  to  school  very  early?"  said  John  Frederick. 
"  Say,  at  from  eleven  to  thirteen." 

"I  think  that  if  possible  they  should  continue  their  education  near 
home,  where  they  can  have  the  training,  care,  sympathy,  and  advice 
of  their  parents  until  they  are  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old.  By  that 
age  their  principles  and  good  habits  should  be  pretty  well  established; 
and  their  health  also  will  be  less  likely  to  suffer  from  lack  of  maternal 
oversight.  They  will,  if  properly  brought  up,  know  how  to  take 
care  of  themselves ;  their  especial  mental  preferences  will  be  de- 
veloped, and  they  will  know  what  they  wish  to  study,  and  for  what 
end." 

"  I  think,  too,"  said  Robert,  "  that  at  this  age  they  will  feel  more 
pride  in  scholarship,  realize  better  the  value  of  time,  and  more  highly 
appreciate  the  worth  of  the  money  expended  on  their  education  than 
they  would  do  when  younger." 

"  That  is  very  true.  There  will  be  less  wasted  time,  and  they  will 
have  a  better  habit  of  study.  It  is  also  noticeable  that  at  this  age 


154  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

there  comes  a  certain  maturity  of  mind,  so  that  the  student  can  more 
efficiently  grasp  the  subjects  presented  to  his  consideration.  Un- 
doubtedly school  life,  between  fifteen  and  twenty-one,  tells  better, 
than  school  life  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  eighteen.  Very- 
young  pupils  in  boarding-schools  are  apt  to  acquire  a  habit  of  idle- 
ness and  indifferent  preparation.  They  really  cannot  compete  with 
elder  pupils,  and  the  teachers  deal  very  leniently  with  them,  and  often 
do  not  expect  them  to  do  as  well  as  would  really  be  possible.  On 
the  other  hand,  while  their  mental  qualities  may  be  overshadowed 
and  dwarfed  by  competition  with  more  mature  pupils,  their  manners, 
emotions,  and  a  certain  sharpness  receive  undue  development ;  they 
lose  the  freshness,  simplicity  and  growing  quality  of  childhood,  and 
get  an  unripe,  crude,  dwarfed  moral  and  physical  maturity — as  fruit 
picked  too  early  becomes  as  ripe  as  it  can,  but  of  a  ripeness  hard 
and  savorless." 

"  But  suppose  that  one  has,  near  their  home,  in  their  own  town, 
or  where  they  can  go  and  come  every  day,  schools  of  high  grade — 
classical,  normal,  collegiate — does  it  not  then  seem  idle  to  go  abroad 
to  seek  instruction  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  For  with  such  schools  within  easy  reach,  you  can 
have  most  of  the  advantages  of  the  boarding-school,  while  yet  you  are 
boarding  at  home.  The  intimacy  with  the  teachers  ;  contact  with  a 
large  number  of  pupils ;  belonging  to  the  literary  societies  of  the 
school ;  taking  part  in  all  its  exercises,  and  becoming  acquainted  with 
its  discipline,  will  serve  much  the  same  purpose  as  going  away  to 
school,  especially  if  you  maintain  the  study  hours" 

41  What  do  you  think  of  going  abroad  to  foreign  schools  ?  " 
"  I  think  that  nothing  is  more  unfounded  or  pernicious  than  the 
idea  that  a  young  American  should  be  trained  in  a  foreign  boarding- 
school.  It  is  true,  that  if  one  wishes  to  be  a  teacher  of  foreign  lan- 
guages, it  is  needful  to  live  in  the  country  where  they  are  spoken ; 
but  in  this  case,  the  plan  should  be  to  complete  other  studies,  obtain 
fluency  in  reading  these  languages,  and  remain  in  our  own  country 
until  at  least  nineteen  years  of  age.  Then  will  be  time  enough  to 


EDCUATION  IN  SCHOOLS.  155 

go  abroad  for  one  or  two  years  to  a  foreign  boarding-school,  or  to 
live  in  some  reputable  foreign  family,  until  a  knowledge  of  different 
languages,  and  of  the  life  and  customs  of  another  nation,  shall 
have  been  obtained.  The  atmosphere  and  opinions  of  European 
nations  are  so  different  from  our  own,  that  it  is  impossible  that  a 
loyal,  vigorous,  patriotic,  reasonable  American  citizen  can  be  trained 
up  abroad.  Educate  American  boys  and  girls  in  foreign  schools, 
and  you  have  a  race  of  intellectual  mongrels,  who  will  make  no 
good  impression  on  their  age." 

"  But  in  art,  in  music,  in  singing,  is  it  not  needful  to  be  trained  in 
the  foreign  schools  ?  Are  they  not  better  than  ours  ?  " 

"  In  all  these  pursuits  the  prominent  foreign  schools  have  this  ad- 
vantage: that,  as  they  are  older,  their  collections,  their  examples, 
their  varied  privileges,  each  in  their  own  line,  are  greater  than  we 
have  yet  attained  in  our  comparatively  new  schools.  But  at  the 
same  time  we  have,  in  our  own  country,  schools  in  art,  in  music,  that 
can  lay  a  broad  and  admirable  foundation — can  afford  a  pupil  all  the 
instruction  that  he  is  capable  of  receiving,  until  he  is  twenty  or 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  or  older,  if  he  did  not  early  begin  these 
pursuits.  The  plan  is  to  get  all  that  you  can  in  this  country,  and 
then  go  abroad  for  a  few  years,  when  you  are  capable  of  appreciating 
the  riches  there  set  before  you,  and  when  you  are  not  so  young  and 
plastic  as  to  be  de-nationalized  by  your  training.  We  do  not  want  a 
race  of  French,  or  German,  or  Italian  musicians  or  singers,  a  line 
of  foreign  artists  as  our  representatives;  but  we  want  Americans, 
of  American  genius,  opinions,  principles  and  national  spirit,  who 
have  learned  to  appreciate  their  own  country  for  the  solid  advan- 
tages and  instructions  she  has  g-iven,  and  who  have  acquired,  in 
their  several  arts,  depth,  breadth,  polish  and  sympathy,  by  their 
studies  abroad." 

"  What  is  your  opinion  of  denominational  schools  ? "  asked 
George. 

"  I  approve  of  them,  certainly.  In  them  each  denomination  shows 
its  knowledge  of  and  hearty  interest  in  its  own  especial  tenets. 


156  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

When  an  adult  is  a  member  of  any  church  or  denomination,  it  is  to 
be  supposed  that  it  is  because  he  prefers  that  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  to  any  other.  Certain  doctrines,  forms,  or  methods  of 
that  church  especially  commend  themselves  to  his  adoption.  Now, 
if  an  adult  prefers  a  church  for  himself,  and  has,  in  his  opinion,  sound 
grounds  of  choice,  it  seems  to  me  that  he  should  also  prefer  it  for 
his  children.  It  is  the  best  that  he  knows,  and  he  is  likely  to  desire 
to  impart  its  benefits  to  his  family.  Undoubtedly  religious  parents 
want  to  bring  up  their  children  in  their  own  church.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  religious  parents  are  bound  always  to  keep  their  children 
in  the  schools  of  their  own  denomination.  Very  likely  it  would  give 
them  more  cordial  general  interests,  and  more  hearty  sympathies, 
and  broader  comprehension  of  public  questions,  if  at  least  a  portion 
of  their  time  were  spent  in  undenominational  schools — schools  where 
the  Bible  was  read,  religion  was  respected,  but  which  belonged  to  no 
especial  sect,  and  where  equal  courtesy  was  extended  to  all :  as,  for 
instance,  our  public  schools  and  our  State  universities.  Let  me  say, 
however,  that  it  is  the  most  absurd  folly  for  a  parent,  who  means  to 
train  his  child  in  his  own  church,  to  send  him  to  the  church  schools 
of  some  other  denomination.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  he  will  find 
that  his  child  will  change  his  creed.  As  is  his  school  his  church 
will  be.  The  change  may  be  for  better,  or  worse,  or  a  matter  of  real 
indifference,  morally  considered  ;  but  this  is  not  in  question :  the 
change  is  what  I  speak  of.  If  a  parent  sends  his  child  to  the  school 
organized  in  the  interests  of  any  particular  denomination,  to  that  de- 
nomination his  child  will  almost  inevitably  belong.  I  only  speak  for 
the  benefit  of  parents  who  send  their  children  thus  to  be  trained  in 
doctrines  different  from  their  own,  and  then  lift  up  a  howl  at  a 
change  of  creed.  Did  you  ever  alter  the  hue  of  flowers  by  applying 
coloring  matter  around  the  roots  ?  It  is  a  curious  and  suggestive 
experiment." 

"  Let  us  have  some  thoughts  on  our  public  schools." 
"  In  public  schools,  in  their  equipment,  number,  efficiency,  America 
undoubtedly  leads  the  world,"  said  the  Stranger.    "Our  public  school 


EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOLS.  157 

system  is  our  glorious  boast.  In  our  public  schools,  emphatically, 
we  train  up  American  citizens.  Therefore  I  say  that,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptional cases,  all  our  American  youth  should  spend  some  part  of 
their  school  life  in  the  public  schools.  Boys  and  girls  as  well,  should 
go  for  a  time  at  least  to  our  common  schools,  there  to  learn  the 
brotherhood  of  all  American  citizens,  the  real  practical  principles  of 
democratic  institutions,  and  the  relation  of  the  common  government 
as  common  parent  to  all." 

"  What  are  the  exceptions  that  you  suggested  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  They  are  exceptions  that  arise  out  of  physical  conditions.  Some 
people  are  so  constituted  that  they  cannot  endure  the  nervous  strain 
of  large  numbers  of  pupils  together,  or  of  sitting  to  study  in  a  school 
room,  or  being  where  classes  are  constantly  reciting.  Where  these 
peculiar  mental  states  exist,  then  it  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  recog- 
nize them,  and  provide  home  education,  or  send  to  smaller  schools, 
unless  they  will  risk  the  child's  mental  and  physical  wreck." 

"  Some  people  think  the  public  schools  not  fashionable  enough," 
said  Peter,  with  a  little  sneer. 

"  If  a  parent  is  really  capable  of  resting  on  such  a  notion  as  that,  I 
suppose  he  is  bound  to  bring  up  a  weakling,  and  it  makes  little  dif- 
ference where  such  an  one  is  educated.  The  result  will  be  about  the 
same.  But  you  must  not  so  sweepingly  characterize  the  motives  of 
all  parents  who  decline  to  send  to  the  public  schools.  They  may 
have  many  and  good  reasons  that  you  do  not  understand. 

"  One  reason  why  all  our  citizens  should  send  their  children  for 
more  or  less  time  to  public  schools  is,  that  thus  their  standard  of 
order,  teaching  and  influence,  will  be  raised.  The  schools  will  be 
more  and  more  reputable;  children  who  have  many  home  advantages 
will  aid  in  refining  and  cultivating  those  who  have  none;  while  the 
most  reliable  classes  of  our  citizens  will  be  enlisted  to  guard  and 
n'isely  legislate  for  the  schools  that  are  educating  their  own 
children."  ,* 

"  Do  you  not  think  that  there  should  be  compulsory  education  ?  " 
asked  Catherine. 


15S  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"Ignorance,"  said  the  Stranger,  "is  the  parent  of  vicj.  Our 
country  pays  out  half  its  taxes  for  the  suppression  of  vice  and  the 
maintenance  of  criminals.  It  is  a  matter  of  serious  question,  whether 
the  preventive  ounce  of  compelled  education,  especially  when  'our 
school  system  is  all  equipped  for  its  work,  would  not  ^cheaper  than 
the  pound  of  cure  demanded  by  prosecutions,  prisons,  executions, 
and  the  million  methods  in  which  vice  saps  our  moneyed  strength. 
Where  we  rear,  at  vast  labor,  a  well-educated  citizen,  and  allow  to 
grow  beside  him  an  utterly  uneducated  citizen,  we  may  be  sure  that 
as  fast  as  one  builds  the  other  can  pull  down;  what  one  acquires  the 
other  can  destroy.  It  is  plus  x  cancelled  by  minus  x,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  equation." 

"  But,"  said  Henry,  "  would  not  compulsory  education  interfere 
with  parental  rights,  the  privacy  of  families,  the  independence  of 
households  ?  " 

"  Consider  that  while  individuals  have  fathers  and  mothers,  the 
State  is  the  general  parent  of  us  all,  and  as  such  has  a  right  to  see 
that  the  infant  citizen  is  not,  by  any  adult  citizen,  hindered  in  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  If  the  parent  chooses  to  starve 
the  child,  the  State  interferes.  The  State  will  not  permit  the  parent 
to  kill  the  child.  If  the  parent  desires  to  injure  the  child  by  cruelty, 
he  is  amenable  to  the  laws.  Now  it  is  a  matter  of  question,  whether, 
when  the  parent  asserts  a  right  to  starve,  maim  or  slay  the  child, 
mentally  or  morally,  the  State  has  not  that  same  duty  to  intervene 
in  behalf  of  the  moral  nature,  that  it  has  for  the  physical  ?  " 

"  What  is  the  likelihood  that  we,shall  obtain  compulsory  educa- 
tion in  this  country?  "  asked  Samuel. 

"  It  has  worked  well  in  Prussia.  It  is  this  very  compulsory  edu- 
cation that  has  brought  Prussia,  within  a  century,  from  a  fifth  rank- 
to  a  first  rank  European  power.  France  had  a  habit  of  conquering 
Prussia,  and  suddenly  found  that  Prussia  had  the  stronger  hand. 
No  nation  is  shrewder  than  France.  She  meditated  :  '  The  power  is 
not  in  guns,  in  munitions  of  war,  in  army  rations,  in  drill ;  but  the 
Prussian  soldiers  can  read,  and  the  French  soldiers  cannot  read.' 


EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOLS.  159 

Whereupon  France  taught  her  army  to  read  before  she  increased  her 
armament!  England  has  adopted  the  plan  of  compulsory  educa- 
tion, and  it  works  well  in  England.  Now  it  is  matter  of  fact,  that, 
though -America  is  a  very  independent  and  high-headed  daughter, 
she  usually  finishes  by  following  in  the  maternal  steps.  It  is  also 
noticeable  that  she  improves  upon  them  somewhat." 

"  The  public  schools  being  one  kind  of  school  that  we  should  at- 
tend," said  John  Frederick,  "  what  other  kind  of  schools  are  there, 
and  how  shall  we  get  to  them  ?  What  shall  we  choose,  and  then, 
if  we  have  not  parents  rich  enough  to  help  us,  how  shall  we  pay  our 
bills?" 

"  Your  choice  of  a  school  must  largely  depend  on  what  you  mean 
to  do  in  life.  If  you  mean  to  enter  business,  I  should  say  if  the 
schools  near  your  home  are  not  such  as  to  give  you  a  sufficient  gen- 
eral education,  and  you  do  not  intend  to  have  a  collegiate  course, 
go  to  a  good  boarding-school,  for  a  year  if  you  can,  and  then  for  six 
months,  or  a  year,  go  and  work  hard  at  a  commercial  school  in 
some  city,  where  you  can  have  the  advantage  of  attending  lec- 
tures on  general  subjects,  reading  during  your  spare  hours  in  large 
libraries,  and  can  join  for  three  or  four  months  an  '  elocution  class/ 
under  an  experienced  teacher.  It  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  you 
to  be  a  good  reader  and  speaker." 

"  But  would  not  this  be  very  expensive  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  The  tuition  fees  in  commercial  schools  and  elocution  classes  are 
not  high,  and  in  almost  any  city  students  can  get  plain  board  in 
respectable  families  for  a  price  suited  to  their  means.  Young  men 
can  get  at  a  low  rate  a  sleeping-room  if  they  will  take  a  hall  bed- 
room, or  a  top  story,  and  then  can  get  their  meals  arranged  for  at  a 
moderate  price  at  some  plain  temperance  eating-house.  To  the 
resolute,  all  things  are, possible." 

"  Suppose  one  means  to  teach  ?  "  said  Laura. 

"  If  you  intend  to  teach  in  public  schools,  by  all  means  go  to  the 
normal  schools.  At  these  institutions  your  education  will  be  in  the 
line  of  what  you  mean  to  do ;  and  you  are  much  more  likely  to  get 


160  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

places  to  teach  than  if  you  graduated  from  classical  academies.  At 
the  normal  schools  terms  and  classes  are  especially  arranged  for  the 
convenience  of  those  who  teach  part  of  the  year  to  earn  money  to 
pay  for  their  tuition  during  the  remaining  time.  The  normal  schools 
are  cheaper  than  most  of  the  academies,  and  students  intending  to 
teach  receive  a  reduction  on  behalf  of  the  State.  You  will  find  the 
fare  and  furnishings  plainer  than  in  the  academies  and  seminaries ; 
there  will  be  more  crowding;  a  more  promiscuous  class  of  pupils, 
and,  owing  to  numbers,  you  are  more  likely  to  be  dealt  with  in 
masses,  and  there  will  not  be  the  individual  culture,  friendship  and 
home  feeling  that  some  other  institutions  may  offer.  You  will  find, 
however,  good,  sound  instruction,  especially  in  the  English  branches 
of  education,  while  many  of  the  normal  schools  fit  their  pupils,  who 
desire  it,  for  college." 

"  Where  should  we  go  if  we  mean  to  try  and  teach  in  academies 
or  classical  schools  ?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  In  that  case  you  must  go  through  college.  It  is  true,  that  if 
you  teach  in  academies,  and  not  in  colleges,  you  will  not  be  required 
to  carry  your  classes  through  all  the  authors  read  in  college ;  but 
remember  that  for  any  degree  of  efficiency  the  teacher  must  be  far 
before  the  pupil  in  attainment.  You  study  Virgil  before  you  go  to 
college,  but  you  cannot  teach  well  in  Virgil  unless  you  have  been 
through  college.  You  should,  in  any  profession,  make  yourself  com- 
petent to  rise,  and  if  you  are  teaching  in  classical  schools,  your 
attainments  should  not  be  of  so  low  a  grade  as  to  render  you  inelig- 
ible to  a  professorial  chair  in  a  college." 

"And  if  we  have  in  view  a  profession,  and  not  teaching,  where 
should  we  go  ?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  Fit  yourself  for  college,  and  go  through  college.  A  collegiate 
education  is  always  an  advantage,  no  matter  what  professional  line 
of  life  you  follow.  Get  it  if  you  can." 

"  But  it  may  be  that  we  do  not  expect  to  go  through  college ;  we 
only  have  a  short  time,  from  one  to  three  years,  to  get  as  much 
education  as  we  can,  and  we  do  not  expect  to  teach — what  then  ?  " 
asked  Samuel. 


EDUCATION  IN  SCHOOLS.  161 

"  I  should  say,  look  up  a  good  classical  school,  where  careful 
attention  is  paid  to  all  branches  of  a  general  education,  and  when 
you  go  to  school  select  those  studies  in  which  you  can  make  the 
most  rapid  advance,  and  which  will  be  most  widely  useful.  Remem- 
ber that  there  are  schools,  and  schools.  It  will  be  of  great  impoi- 
tance  to  you  to  go  to  a  really  good  academy.  Every  place  that 
advertises  itself,  even  under  a  fine  name,  as  able  'to  give  every  advan- 
tage,' may  not  be  a  really  good  school.  Some  academies  and  sem- 
inaries are  most  disastrous  in  their  effects  on  health,  or  brains,  or 
morals.  Some  are*  disastrous  in  all  these  regards.  There  are  also 
schools  that  almost  invariably  produce  pupils  who  are  sound  in 
heart  and  mind,  thorough  in  their  studies,  and  useful  to  the 
world." 

"  How  shall  we  find  out  these  good  schools?"  asked  Violet. 

"  By  calm  investigation.  There  is  some  weight  to  be  attached  to 
the  prospectus  of  a  school,  and  you  should  study  and  compare  the 
catalogues  of  several  institutions.  The  public  opinion  of  a  school, 
especially  the  opinion  of  disinterested  people,  living  within  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  institution,  should  be  considered.  See  what  some 
of  the  old  pupils  of  the  seminary  which  you  propose  to  enter  say 
of  their  alma  mater.  Be  sure  and  choose  a  school  that  is  in  a  health- 
ful place.  They  all  claim  to  be  in  liealtJiful  localities;  but  where,  in 
matter  of  fact,  you  find  them  near  a  creek,  or  a  swamp,  or  in  a  damp 
valley,  you  may  conclude  there  is  some  mistake  about  the  salubrity 
of  the  situation.  In  choosing  a  school,  it  is  well  to  find  an  institu- 
tion that  has  been  established  for  some  years,  and  has  a  library  and 
a  good  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus.  You  must  also  inves- 
tigate the  moral  character  of  the  pupils,  and  discover,  if  you  can, 
what  is  their  course  after  concluding  their  studies.  One  very  impor- 
tant question  should  be  the  ventilation  of  the  sleeping-rooms,  and 
another  the  quality  of  the  food.  Good  air  and  good  food  are  indis- 
pensable', if  you  would  make  good  progress  in  study." 

"  I  suppose  what  you  have  said  of  procuring  books  for  home  study 
will  hold  good  for  getting  our  books  at  school  ?  "  said  Violet. 
11 


162  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Yes.  Of  course,  there  you  mu.st  get  the  books  used  in  the  insti- 
tution, though  in  the  classics  any  edition  that  you  have  of  an  author 
may  do.  If  you  need  to  be  very  economical,  you  may  hear  of  some 
student  who  has  left  the  school  who  will  sell  you  their  books  at  a 
low  price.  Some  firms  sell  to  students  at  twenty  per  cent,  discount. 
In  many  institutions  the  teachers  buy  the  books  for  their  pupils,  and 
always  getting  this  discount  and  then  charging  the  pupil  full  price, 
their  gain  is  considerable,  and  leads  them  to  be  often  changing 
books.  It  is  better,  if  you  need  to  save,  to  save  on  articles  of 
ornament,  or  luxury,  and  not  stint  yourself  ot  needed  books,  as 
dictionaries  and  maps,  which  will  be  of  life-long  use  to  you." 

"  Some  young  people  board  themselves  while  attending  school:  do 
they  not  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  Yes ;  and  this  will  do  if  really  needful.  But  here  is  a  danger  of 
hastily  eaten,  irregular,  carelessly  prepared,  and  little  relished  meals, 
which  will  affect  the  health.  Several  young  people  may  club  to- 
gether and  board  themselves,  and  then  they  escape  these  evils,  by 
having  a  reasonable  and  regular  meal  in  cheery  company.  Nothing 
is  more  gloomy  than  eating  alone.  Sometimes  young  men  can  get 
room,  fire  and  lights  in  a  building  where  it  is  needful  to  have  some 
one  sleep,  and  the  owners  afford  these  conveniences  as  pay  to  the 
student  for  acting  as  garrison.  Occasionally  a  young  man  or  woman 
can  get  their  board  for  serving  as  tutor,  either  in  the  school  or  a 
private  family,  while  they  attend  classes  themselves.  But  this  is  a 
tax  on  the  strength,  as  it  entails  double  duty,  and  demands  a  vig- 
orous constitution  to  sustain  it." 

"We  are  not  half  through  with  this  subject;  we  must  discuss  it 
again,"  said  John  Frederick. 


CHAPTER   NINTH. 

EXIGENCIES    OF   SCHOOL    LIFE. 

E    still   want   information    concerning    schools    and 
school  life,"  cried  Robert. 

"  To-day,  I  shall  conclude  that  you  have  chosen 
your  school,  and  have  arranged  how  you  shall  live 
during  your  academic  course.  Now,  before  you 
start,  you  must  pack  your  trunk,  and  I  mean  to  tell  you  how  to 
do  it." 

"  O,  we  know  how  to  pack  a  trunk ! "  cried  Violet. 
"  Do  you,  indeed?  Then  you  are  in  possession  of  an  accomplish- 
ment that  is  worth  a  great  deal,  and  is  not  so  very  common.  I 
remember  when  I  was  going  to  Europe  a  party  of  three  or  four  gay 
young  ladies  made  quite  a  dash  on  the  steamer.  As  we  neared  Glas- 
gow, the  customs  officer  came  aboard ;  the  trunks  were  set  out  on 
the  lower  deck,  and  the  passengers  stood  on  the  upper  deck  looking 
down  at  the  examination.  Such  a  sight  as  the  trunks  of  these 
damsels  presented  I  never  saw  before,  nor  since.  Not  an  article  was 
folded ;  boots  and  perfume  bottles  lay  tumbled  with  collars  and 
kerchiefs;  bonnets  and  stockings  and  flannel  petticoats  were  jumbled 
in  a  heap ;  and  as  the  officer  strove  to  investigate  the  disorderly 
mass,  torn  ruffles,  and  odd  gloves,  and  rumpled  dresses  afforded  a 
deplorable  spectacle.  Everybody — but  the  owners — burst  into  a 
laugh.  A  lady  dropped  to  the  officer  the  key  of  a  locked  trunk. 
He  lifted  the  lid.  The  tray  was  full  of  pretty,  neatly  stowed  boxes, 
each  containing  articles  of  different  kinds :  ties,  collars,  kerchiefs, 
ribbons,  pins ;  the  bonnet-box  had  the  bonnets  securely  fastened,  and 

(163) 


164  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

in  lifting  these  out,  behold,  a  smooth,  solid  mass  of  clothing,  folded 
and  sorted  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  The  'customs'  turned  and 
touched  his  hat :  '  Miss,  it  seems  a  sin  to  disturb  such  beautiful  order.' 
Now  if  you  young  ladies  can  pack  a  trunk,  so  that  no  space  shall  be 
wasted,  nothing  broken,  and  nothing  rumpled,  I  am  sure  that  none 
of  these  boys  can  do  it." 

"  That  we  cannot,  but  our  mothers  will  see  to  it,"  said  Samuel 
with  cheering  confidence. 

"Ah  !  but — who  will  pack  for  you  when  you  come  home  ?  I  have 
known  young  men  to  fling  in  books,  clothes,  shirts,  ink  bottles, 
paper,  and  if  the  lid  did  not  go  down,  get  in  and  tramp  on  the  heap, 
until  the  trunk  could  be  locked.  I  will  say  one  thing  for  these  lads : 
their  wives  had  a  desperate  time  of  it  training  them  into  habits  of 
good  order  in  middle  life  ! " 

"  Let  us  hear  how  to  pack  a  trunk,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  First,  then :  put  your  books  and  heavy  articles  at  the  bottom ; 
but  put  underneath  them  a  layer  of  paper,  and  a  paper  between  the 
edges  and  backs  to  prevent  rubbing.  Here  let  me  suggest  that  you 
respect  your  books.  Don't  drop,  rub,  dog's-ear,  mark,  soil,  or  deface 
them.  A  row  of  fine-looking,  carefully  used  books  is  qjost  credit- 
able to  a  student.  When  you  pack  skates,  shoes,  boots,  etc.,  wrap 
each  one  in  paper;  then  put  the  pairs  near  together, and  find  crevices 
for  them  between  the  neatly  folded  bundles  of  your  flannels  and 
night-clothing.  Have  your  socks  rolled  together  in  pairs,  with  one 
top  turned  over  the  two,  so  that  they  shall  not  slip  apart.  Put  all 
the  stockings  together  in  some  fixed  place.  Take  the  trouble  to 
have  a  tailor  show  you  how  to  fold  your  coats,  vests,  and  trowsers. 
Crumpled  collars,  sleeves,  and  twisted  pantaloon  legs,  make  even  a 
new  suit  look  old  and  forlorn.  Having  put  in  the  bottom  of  the 
trunk  your  books,  then  your  flannels  and  unstarched  muslin  wear, 
your  socks  and  shoes,  next  put  in,  folded  tailor-way,  your  outer 
clothing.  If  you  carry  pictures,  lay  them  in  among  these  articles. 
If  you  must  take  ink,  glue  or  varnish  in  bottles,  have  them  well 
corked  or  with  screw  tops  ;  wrap  each  bottle  carefully  in  cotton 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  165 

batting,  to  absorb  anything  that  spills;  and  then  fold  the  whole  well 
in  newspaper,  and  distribute  these  unlucky  articles  among  soft  goods. 
In  the  tray  of  your  trunk  put  your  shirts.  Get  two  or  three  little 
boxes,  and  in  these  put  your  trinkets,  your  ties,  your  kerchiefs ;  lay 
your  collars  in  the  tray  with  your  shirts.  See  that  all  is  packed 
solidly,  so  that  nothing  shall  wear  or  rumple  by  slipping.  If  you 
pack  a  hat,  put  it  in  a  box ;  if  there  is  no  hat-box,  get  a  pasteboard 
box,  and  when  you  pack  the  hat  put  loosely  about  it  some  soft  things, 
as  scarfs,  woollen  gloves,  etc.,  to  keep  the  hat  from  bruising.  Put 
things  in  the  order  in  which  they  ought  to  come,  and  then  remember 
where  you  put  them,  so  that  you  shall  not  tumble  the  whole  trunk 
over  every  time  that  you  want  anything.  Every  young  person  going 
to  school  should  take  a  small  box  of  sewing  materials ;  boys  as  well 
as  girls,  but  the  girls  need  more  ample  provision,' for  they  make 
things,  while  the  boys  only  sew  on  buttons  and  fasten  up  rips.  This 
sewing-box  must  have  a  needle-book  with  assorted  needles,  a  piece 
of  wax,  a  roll  of  tape,  a  bag  of  mixed  buttons,  a  pair  of  scissors,  a 
spool  of  black  silk,  coarse  and  fine  white  thread,  and  a  spool  of 
strong,  black  linen  thread." 

"  I'll  remember  that,"  said  Peter. 

"  Then  you  must  have  a  little  bundle  put  in  a  very  handy  place, 
and  this  bundle  must  contain  two  or  three  strips  of  flannel,  a  square 
bit  of  flannel,  two  or  three  old  glove-fingers,  a  little  lint,  a  little  raw 
cotton,  some  fragments  of  old  linen,  a  roller  band,  two  or  three  inches 
wide,  and  two  yards  long,  of  strong,  old  cotton  cloth.  Here  will  be 
provision  for  cuts,  bruises,  sprains,  or  sore  throats'.  Then,  equally 
in  a  handy  place,  you  want  a  little  box  with  a  bottle  of  good  lini- 
ment, a  roll  of  court-plaster,  a  box  of  camphor  cream ;  and  if  there 
is  any  kind  of  simple  medicine  for  colds,  headache,  or  indigestion, 
that  you  know  how  to  use,  and  your  parents  wish  you  to  take,  put 
it  here.  A  bottle  of  camphor,  and  one  of  ammonia,  will  also  be  use- 
ful; and  a  quarter-ounce  bottle  of  laudanum,  if  you  are  liable  to  ear 
or  toothache,  and  know  that  laudanum  is  to  be  used  by  novices  only 
with  a  few  drops  on  cotton." 


166  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  I  shall  remember  this,"  said  Thomas ;  "  but  the  camphor  cream 
is  so  dear  that  one  cannot  use  it  very  liberally." 

"  Say  you  so  ?  Then  I  will  give-  you  a  recipe  for  making"  it,  of 
the  very  best>  and  cheap.  Take  one  ounce  each  of  white  wax  and 
spermaceti,  and  cut  them  fine  in  two  ounces  of  sweet  oil ;  set  these 
in  a  warm  place  on  the  back  of  your  stove,  where  they  will  dissolve 
.slowly,  without  getting  hot.  Stir  frequently.  Then  add  one  ounce 
pulverized  camphor,  and  stir  until  it  is  dissolved.  Take  from  the 
stove,  and  add  one  ounce  of  glycerine,  and  stir  until  it  is  cool.  Then 
put  it  in  glass  or  china  boxes,  and  you  have  enough  for  a  family  for 
a  year,  if  it  be  carefully  used.  It  is  good  for  sores,  cuts,  burns, 
chapped  hands,  or  rheumatism  of  the  joints." 

"Thank  you  for  the  prescription,"  said  Thomas;  "but  you  seem 
to  be  preparing  us  for  the  court  of  Mars,  rather  than  for  that  of 
Minerva." 

"  Remember  that  Minerva  patronized  war  as  well  as  letters"  said 
the  Stranger,  "and  when  you  go  to  boarding-school  you  will  find 
that  gymnastics,  base-ball,  foot-ball  and  other  games,  added  to 
youthful  carelessness  of  taking  cold,  will  bring  all  your  little  drug 
shop  into  use.  You  will  also  discover  that  not  one  in  ten  of  your 
classmates  comes  provided  with  these  useful  articles  that  I  have 
commended  to  you,  and  the  possession  of  them  will  make  you  very 
helpful  and  popular.  I  have  often  admired  the  aplomb  with  which, 
on  the  playground,  the  possessor  of  a  court-plaster  case  and  a  pair 
of  scissors  whips  out  his  tools  and  attends  to  the  wounds  of  one  of  his 
fellow-citizens  with  all  the  lofty  importance  of  a  surgeon  performing 
a  rare  and  dangerous  operation.  The  ownership  of  a  bottle  of  lini- 
ment often  makes  our  lad  proud  and  happy  as  a  king,  and  it  is  a 
pity  to  deprive  him  of  the  distinction  of  its  possession ! " 

"  We  shall  all  be  embryo  physicians,"  said  Robert. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  that  your  skill  as  physicians  and  as  nurses  is 
likely  to  be  taxed  in  large  schools.  When  a  pupil  is  ill — if  not  se- 
verely ill — he  is  remitted  to  the  care  of  his  room-mates,  or  friends, 
and  here  you  can  exercise  your  Good  Samaritanism.  By  these  de- 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  167 

mands  you  will  learn  to  be  thoughtful,  sympathetic,  judicious  and 
helpful.  And  you  will  find  yourself  putting  into  use  many  little 
lessons,  learned  unconsciously  at  home,  '  from  mother.'  I  shall 
now  suppose  you  safely  landed  at  school,  and  I  shall  next  speak  of  a 
few  things  in  brief. 

"  First,  DRESS.  You  do  not  go  to  school  to  display  fine  clothes ; 
such  garb  is  absurd,  and  unsuitable  to  the  occasion  and  your  posi- 
tion. Serviceable,  neat,  plain  dress,  suited  to  the  season,  is  the  dress 
that,  if  you  have  good  judgment,  you  will  wear.  At  the  same  time 
you  owe  it  to  yourselves,  teachers  and  companions,  to  be  scrupu- 
lously neat  in  apparel,  and  also  to  exercise  taste.  Well-arranged 
hair,  polished  shoes,  clean  collars,  tasteful  ties,  fresh  kerchiefs,  clothes 
whole,  well  brushed,  and  without  careless  spots  or  frayed  places,  be- 
long to  every  respectable  student. 

"  MANNERS.  I  shall  discuss  etiquette  and  general  good  manners 
on  some  other  occasion.  Of  school  manners  I  will  say:  to  your 
teachers  show  openness,  respect  and  cordiality.  Be  neither  shy  and 
silent,  nor  pert  and  bold.  Do  not  make  acquaintances  too  easily, 
nor  be  repellent  of  kindly  advances.  Be  sympathetic,  cordial,  and 
do  not  judge  hastily.  Neither  be  flattered,  nor  flatter.  Do  not 
boast,  nor  indulge  in  large  stories  about  yourself  and  your  relatives: 
that  is  under-bred ;  but  do  not  refuse  ordinary  information  about 
yourself,  as  that  gives  rise  to  suspicion.  Don't  tell  unpleasant  stories 
about  others,  nor  listen  to  such.  Avoid  sarcasm,  ridicule  of  persons 
and  practical  jokes.  Don't  domineer;  don't  permit  rude  familiarities; 
do  not  too  soon  call  people  by  their  first  names,  nor  encourage  this 
manner  to  yourself;  and  do  not  use  coarse  nick-names.  At  the  same 
time  do  not  be  too  precise  with  your  Miss  and  Mr.  toward  those  of 
your  own  sex  after  reasonable  acquaintance. 

"  CARE  OF  ROOMS.  In  nearly  all  boarding-schools  the  greater  part 
of  the  care  of  their  rooms  is  left  to  the  students.  In  schools  where 
the  price  of  tuition  is  low,  the  pupils  are  required  to  provide  carpets, 
bedding,  curtains,  and  most  articles,  except  the  standing  furniture ; 
pictures  and  ornaments  are  always  brought  by  the  pupils.  In  going 


168  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

through  the  rooms  of  a  school,  you  will  see  the  greatest  difference 
in  the  neatness  and  order  maintained.  The  difference  is  not  that  the 
girls'  rooms  are  always  delicately  cared  for,  and  the  boys'  neglected ; 
some  girls  keep  their  room  in  shocking  disorder,  and  some  boys 
establish  a  little  paradise  of  neatness.  This  neatness  and  good  taste 
in  rooms  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference.  Our  homes,  our  private 
rooms,  reflect  our  moral  natures,  as  a  mirror  reflects  our  physical 
selves;  and  also  our  surroundings  mould  and  influence  our  moral 
natures,  as  light  and  pressure  modify  the  growth  of  a  plant.  Let  me 
read  you  two  extracts  from  a  genial  French  author :  '  The  place  in 
which  we  live  models  itself  forcibly  to  our  image;  we  leave  there, 
without  intending  it,  a  thousand  imprints  of  our  soul.  Just  as  the 
empty  couch  permits  to  be  seen  the  size  and  attitude  of  the  person 
who  has  slept  there,  the  dwelling  of  each  man  can  betray  to  the  eyes 
of  a  skilled  observer  the  measure  of  his  intelligence  and  the  attitude 
of  his  heart.'  " 

"  I  believe  that  is  true,"  said  Thomas,  "though  I  never  thought  of 
it  before.  Of  cpurse!  Why,  if  I  go  into  a  fellow's  room,  and  see 
guns,  fishing-rods  and  fish-baskets,  I  know  he  loves  hunting  and  the 
woods.  If  he  has  rows  of  books,  I  see  his  taste  is  scholarly.  If  he 
has  pictures  and  curiosities,  he  is  artistic;  and  nearly  all  people  that 
I  know  do  thus  express  themselves  in  their  rooms." 

"  Let  me  add,  Thomas,  that  if  a  young  man  in  school  has  his  wall 
decorated  with  pictures  of  horses,  and  of  half-dressed  girls,  and  of 
notorious  dancers,  actors  and  singers;  if  his  table  displays  flash  ties 
and  gaudy  kerchiefs,  and  a  pipe,  or  the  stump  of  a  cigar;  and  if  a 
pair  of  muddy  boots  lie  half  under  his  bed,  that  boy  is  raw  material 
for  a  rowdy,  and  is  galloping  along  the  highway  to  the  terminus — 
scamp.  He  cannot  be  a  scholar,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  a  gentleman. 
His  only  chance  of  improvement  is  that  his  father  shall  take  him  out 
of  school,  put  him  at  hard  work  in  farm,  shop  or  store;  keep  him  in 
of  nights,  choose  his  books,  clothes  and  friends;  cultivate  the  decent, 
tone  down  the  evil,  and  in  active  labor  use  up  his  superfluous  blood 
and  muscle.  I  will  also  admit  that  some  boys  may  give  these  signs 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  169 

of  rowdyism,  not  because  vulgarity  is  their  choice,  but  some  foolish 
companion  has  taught  them  that  only  by  these  things  they  can  be 
manly.  Let  them  heed:  by  these  things  they  will  always  be 
unmanly.  But  hear  more  from  Souvestre :  '  If  our  sensations  have 
an  indisputable  influence  upon  our  judgments,  whence  comes  it  that 
we  take  so  little  care  of  things  which  arouse,  or  modify  these  sensa- 
tions ?  The  exterior  world  perpetually  reflects  itself  in  us  as  in  a 
glass,  and  fills  us  with  images  which  in  turn  become  in  us  the  germs 
of  opinion  and  the  rules  of  our  conduct.  All  objects  which  sur- 
round us  are  so  many  talismans  whence  exhale  good  or  evil 
influences.  It  is  our  wisdom,  then,  to  create  for  our  souls  a  salu- 
brious atmosphere.'  " 

"As  soon  as  I  go  home,"  cried  Catherine,  "  I  shall  carefully  examine 
my  room  and  the  family  sitting-room,  to  see  if  I  can  find  there  any- 
thing likely  to  have  an  evil  effect  on  my  soul  or  mind ;  and  I  will 
also  try  and  find  objects  of  goodness  and  beauty  for  these  rooms, 
that  are  to  be  reflected  in  my  spirit,  and  live  in  my  influence  for- 
ever." 

"  You  will  find  nothing  to  change,  Catherine,"  whispered  Samuel, 
"  either  in  your  soul,  or  your  surroundings." 

"  I  shall  burn  two  or  three  books  and  pictures  that  I  have,"  said 
Peter;  "they  are  not  immoral,  but  they  are  calculated  to  make  a  fool 
of  me." 

"And  I,"  laughed  Laura,  "  must  set  to  rights  a  terrible  snarl  of  a 
work-basket,  and  make  my  closet  tidy  !  " 

"  Since  Souvestre  is  having  such  an  admirable  effect  on  you,"  said 
the  Stranger,  "  I  will  read  you  another  paragraph :  'Ah,  if  we  would 
but  watch  over  all  that  can  modify  or  instruct  us  :  if  our  rooms  were 
arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  to  become  a  perpetual  school  for  our 
soul !  But  often  we  take  no  care  for  these  things.  Man  is  an  eternal 
mystery  to  himself,  and  his  own  personality  is  a  house  which  he 
seldom  enters,  and  of  which  he  seldom  studies  the  surroundings.' 
These  admirable  thoughts  will  enforce  what  I  have  to  say  about 
keeping  your  rooms  tasteful  and  orderly.  The  order  should  be 


170  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

thorough.  It  should  not  consist  in  dust  swept  from  the  centre  of 
the  room  and  into  corners,  nor  of  unaired  beds,  hastily  'smoothed 
up.'  These  things  will  cultivate  in  you  deceit.  Remember,  the  Scrip- 
ture is  :'  Not  with  eye  service,  as  men-pleasers,  but  with  singleness 
of  heart,  as  ,unto  God.'  And  our  Lord  meant  something  of  a  moral 
nature,  when  he  warned  of  keeping  '  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup 
and  platter,  while  the  inside  was  full  of  ravening  and  wickedness.'  " 

"  I  suppose  you  will  also  advise  us  to  make  our  rooms  pretty,  as 
well  as  neat  ?  "  said  Violet. 

"  I  will,  indeed ;  cultivate  beauty.  God  delights  in  beauty.  He 
maketh  'everything  beautiful  in  its  time;'  and  in  heaven  enters 
nothing  that  shall  offend.  Arrange  your  rooms  with  neatness,  sim- 
plicity, harmony,  and  beauty.  Make  them  as  attractive  and  home- 
like as  possible.  The  school  is  your  home  for  the  time  being." 

"  Possibly,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  we  may  find  in  our  room-mate 
at  school  a  hindrance  to  our  good  endeavors.  He  may  not  be  like- 
minded  with  ourselves." 

"  You  must  try  the  benefit  of  instruction  and  good  example,  and 
if  the  room-mate  is  incorrigible,  get  a  better  one.  Your  suggestion 
reminds  me  of  an  amusing  paper  that  I  have  among  my  archives — 
the  relic  of  a  jolly  lad's  school  days.  He  suffered  from  a  lazy  and 
disorderly  room-mate,  who  would  not  do  his  own  share  of  the  work, 
nor  afford  our  lad  a  chance  to  do  his.  There  was  consequently  a 
war  of  words ;  then  a  period  of  sulk,  when  the  pair  would  not  speak. 
Then  a  battle  royal,  when  young  master  pulled  his  comrade  out  of 
bed,  so  that  the  bed  could  be  made,  and  then  pommelled  him  for 
resenting  his  authority.  After  this  an  arbitration  and  convention 
being  decided  upon,  some  other  lads  of  the  hall  were  called  in  to 
hear  the  case,  assist  in  the  treaty,  and  be  witnesses  thereof.  The 
result  was  this  precious  paper  : 

\- 

11  'AGREEMENT. 

" '  WE,  the  undersigned,  respectively  agree  to  keep  the  following 
agreement — ' " 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  171 

"A  good  deal  of  agreeing  there,"  murmured  Peter. 

"  So  I  suggested  to  the  author,  but  he  explained  it :  'that  he  meant 
to  have  the  thing  tight ' — but  to  go  on  : 

" '  I.  That  the  bed  shall  be  made  every  morning,  at  the  seven 
o'clock  period,  by  McGregor,  unless  Kimble  stays  in  bed  one-half  of 
the  seven  o'clock  period,  then  he  shall  make  the  bed ;  and  the  one 
staying  in  bed  until  after  breakfast,  Saturdays  and  Sundays,  shall 
make  it. 

'"II.  That  the  water  shall  be  brought  up  every  seven  forty-five 
period  by  Kimble,  and  oftener  during  the  day  if  needed. 

" '  III.  That  McGregor  shall  bring  up  the  wash,  and  sweep  the 
room,  and  Kimble  shall  change  the  sheets  immediately  after  break- 
fast, under  penalty  of  sweeping  the  room  —  that  —  and  fill  the 
lamp — ' " 

"Who  shall  fill  the  lamp?"  demanded  George. 

"Tight  as  it  was  intended  to  be,  it  seems  indefinite  here — but  to 
proceed :  '  To  this  we  set  our  word  of  honor. 

"  '  CODICIL. — If  the  bed  is  not  made  and  the  room  is  not  swept,  at 
a  proper  time,  by  McGregor,  he  must  bring  up  the  water  for  that  day, 
except  when  Kimble  is  in  bed. 

,  f  P.  KIMBLE. 

'Slgned'  \  D.  MCGREGOR. 
"  'Witness:  G.  E.  WHEELER.'  " 

"  Codicil !  "  cried  Robert ;  "  I  thought  that  was  an  addendum  to  a 
will." 

"  I  told  the  youthful  McGregor  that  he  had  strayed  into  mortuary 
suggestions,  but  he  still  responded,  'that  he  wanted  to  make  it  tight, 
and  this  sounded  as  highflown  as  anything!'  You  may  learn  from 
this  document  the  duties  and  difficulties  that  you  are  likely  to  meet, 
and  how  to  surmount  them  with  a  '  tight  agreement.'  I  will  now 
speak  to  you  of  the  Employment  of  Time  in  School.  Consider  that 
school  time  is  very  valuable — valuable  for  the  opportunities  offered 
in  it,  the  work  to  be  done,  and  the  price  that  your  parents  pay  for 
it.  The  time  you  spend  in  school  is  but  short,  and  in  it  you  make 


172  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

most  of  the  intellectual  preparation  for  your  lives.  On  the  proper 
employment  of  your  hours  here  depends  probably  your  success,  use- 
fulness, happiness.  Hugh  Miller  was  more  than  a  fairly  diligent 
pupil,  but  he  tells  us,  regretfully,  that  if  he  had  not  wasted  his  time 
in  school,  at  twenty-two  he  might  have  been  as  well  educated  as  he 
was  at  thirty-five ;  and  that  by  heedlessness,  and  undue  frolic,  he  lost 
ten  of  the  best  years  of  his  life.  Every  pupil  must  take  proper  time 
for  exercise,  sleep,  meals,  and  care  of  room  and  clothes,  but  stiidy  is 
the  business  of  school,  and  to  study  they  should  diligently  apply 
themselves.  If  they  do  not  intend  to  do  this,  they  should  leave 
school,  and  not  remain  to  disgrace  themselves,  set  a  bad  example  to 
their  companions,  and  discourage  their  teachers. 

"  ESPRIT  DE  CORPS  IN  SCHOOLS. 

"School  life  should  have  its  school  pride  and  feeling — the  class 
feeling  of  the  student.  As  the  individual  loves  his  family,  as  the  sub- 
ject feels  for  his  king,  the  patriot  for  his  country,  the  soldier  for  the 
army,  the  sailor  for  his  ship,  the  politician  for  his  party ;  so,  in  its 
measure,  should  be  the  feeling  of  school  life.  The  pupil  should 
identify  himself  with  the  institution  which  he  attends.  He  should 
promote  its  honor,  seek  to  add  to  its  reputation,  uphold  its  discipline, 
respect  its  teachers.  If  he  finds  himself  at  a  school  unworthy  of 
this  hearty  co-operation,  he  should  leave  it  and  seek  a  better  one. 
The  student  should  make' up  his  mind  to  regard  and  maintain  the 
authority  of  the  teachers  of  his  school.  He  should  not  join  in  a 
rebellion,  nor  foment  discord.  He  should  side  with  authority  from 
principle ;  it  is  sound  Bible  doctrine  to  obey  them  that  have  the  rule 
over  you.  It  is  not  brave,  creditable,  nor  wise,  to  rebel  against  and 
defy  teachers;  it  is  often  the  beginning  of  evil  courses,  and  if  these 
do  not  follow,  and  the  pupil  arrives  at  a  respectable  maturity,  he  is 
always  ashamed  of  the  anarchial  part  which  he  has  taken.  "If  dis- 
cipline is  not  maintained,  the  whole  object  of  the  school  is  subverted ; 
therefore,  if  you  go  to  a  school  for  improvement,  you  will  uphold  its 
discipline.  You  virtually  agree  to  accept  the  laws  by  entering  the 
institution." 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  173 

"What  do  you  think  of  joining  the  societies  of  a  school?"  asked 
John  Frederick. 

"  Membership  in  a  literary  society  is  very  helpful ;  it  affords  not 
only  one  of  the  pleasantest,  but  one  of  the  most  useful  opportunities 
of  school  life.  I  advise  every  young  person  to  connect  himself  with 
some  literary  society ;  but  he  should  be  careful  to  select  the  one  that 
is  most  literary  in  its  aims,  numbers  in  its  members  the  best  of  the 
pupils,  and  is  most  respected  by  the  teachers.  Rivalries  between 
societies  should  not  be  allowed  to  grow  into  enmities.  These  socie- 
ties give  you  ideas  of  the  conduct  of  assemblies,  and  of  parliamen- 
tary law  and  order.  They  encourage  thought;  stimulate  reading; 
occupy  time  that  might  otherwise  be  idly  spent.  Many  a  young 
man  has  obtained  in  his  school  society  his  first  ideas  of  debate,  and 
of  exercising  influence  among  men." 

"  You  think  then  that  Rivalries,  that  are  not  carried  too  far,  are 
advantageous,"  said  Henry. 

"  Yes :  competition  is  called  the  life  of  trade,  and  emulation  is  a 
large  part  of  the  life  of  scholarship.  This  comparison  of  mind  with 
mind,  this  competing  with  other  students,  gives  the  school  its  great 
advantage  over  private  instruction." 

"What  do  you  think  of  mixed  schools?  "  asked  Robert. 

"There  may  be  some  young  people  to  whom  such  schools  would 
be  a  disadvantage.  Of  that,  they  and  their  parents  or  guardians 
must  be  judges.  I  think  that  mixed  schools  have  a  good  effect  on 
the  morals  and  manners  of  the  young  men  who  attend  them,  and 
that  the  young  women  of  these  schools  are  usually  less  given  to 
frivolity  and  attain  a  sounder  scholarship,  than  those  elsewhere  edu- 
cated." 

"  But  don't  you  think  they  encourage  noftsense  and  flirtation  ?  " 
said  Peter,  drawing  down  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  •  • 

"  Such  has  not  been  my  observation.  It  seems  to  me  that  girls 
educated  in  mixed  schools  are  less  extravagant  in  dress,  are  more 
self-reliant,  and  less  given  to  flirting  and  coquetry,  than  other  girls ; 
and  that  young  men  so  educated  have  better  morals,  and  more  just 


174  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

opinions.  But  there  are  most  admirable  schools  that  are  designed 
especially  for  young  men  or  young  women.  This  is  a  matter  where 
each  person  must  suit  their  own  needs  and  taste.  The  strongest  ar- 
gument that  can  be  advanced  in  favor  of  the  mixed  schools  is — that 
they  follow  the  order  of  nature — Nature  sends  both  sexes  into  fami- 
lies together,  and  educating  them  together,  seems  continuing  that 
order  of  nature." 

"  Can  we  ever  get  beyond,  or  improve  upon  the  order  of  nature?" 
asked  John  Frederick. 

"  There  are  some  families  where  there  are  all  boys,  and  others 
where  there  are  all  girls,"  spoke  up  the  roguish  Violet. 

"And  so  there  are,  and  always  should  be,  some  schools  only  for 
boys,  and  others  only  for  girls,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"  But  in  most  cases,  the  families  are  mixed,  of  boys  and  girls," 
suggested  Peter.  "  But  this  theme  brings  us  to  the  question  of 
School  Friends/dps." 

"  There  is  nothing  more  interesting,  hearty,  and  unselfish  than  the 
Friendship  of  Youth.  In  early  friendships  there  is  an  amount  of  self- 
forgetful  ness,  that  is  seldom  displayed  later  in  life." 

"  But  a  great  many  people  sneer  at  youthful  friendship,  and  say  it 
is  hastily  formed,  and  evanescent,"  remarked  Catherine. 

"  No  doubt  both  these  allegations  are  true,"  said  the  Stranger, 
"  and  yet  they  do  not  afford  a  ground  for  scoffing  at  early  friendship. 
The  dew  soOn  disappears — it  lingers  a  little  after  sunrise — but  its 
beneficent  influence  is  felt  throughout  the  day.  The  violet,  the 
anemone,  and  the  arbutus,  remain  but  a  few  days  to  ornament  the 
spring,  but  all  the  year  is  richer  for  their  coming.  So  of  early 
friendship ;  distance  or  the  changes  of  our  mental  growth  may  take 
it  from  us,  as  insensibly  as  the  dew  dries,  and  the  petals  of  the  flower 
fade  and  fall,  but  in  all  our  lives,  our  hearts  will  be  something 
wealthier  and  more  tender,  for  the  experience.  The  friendships 
which  are  formed  at  school  are  very  often  lasting.  Years  may  di- 
vide school  friends,  and  intercourse  between  them  may  cease,  but  there 
is  still  a  chord  in  the  heart  responsive  to  the  once  familiar  name,  and 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  175 

we  find   ourselves  placing  the  renewal  of  our  friendship  among  the 
good  things  laid  up  for  us  in  the  future. 

" '  We  turn  the  pages  that  they  read, 

Their  written  words  we  linger  o'er, 
But  in  the  sun  they  cast  no  shade, 

No  step  is  on  the  conscious  floor  ! 
Yet  love  will  dream,  and  faith  will  trust 
(Since  He  who  knows  our  need  is  just), 
That  somewhere,  somehow,  meet  we  must.'  " 

"  It  has  been  remarked,  concerning  these  early  friendships,  that 
those  between  young  men  have  generally  been  more  lasting  than 
those  between  young  women,"  said  Samuel. 

"Is  that  because  the  nature  of  man  is  more  constant ?"  asked 
George,  mischievously. 

"  I  should  say,  rather,  that  it  is  because  the  duties  of  a  woman's 
life  are  of  a  nature  more  absorbing  than  those  of  men.  A  thousand 
cares  fill  up  a  woman's  married  days ;  they  may  be  many  of  them 
small  cares,  but  they  are  constantly  recurring,  and  there  is  needed  a 
remarkably  methodical  and  time-saving  nature  to  find  opportunity 
to  maintain  correspondence  and  fulfil  the  demands  of  friendship, 
while  faithfully  performing  the  duties  of  home.  Many  of  our  early 
friendships  are  formed  while  we  are  away  from  home,  at  school. 
Separated  from  relatives  and  old  companions,  the  young  heart  feels 
lonely,  and  looks  about  for  some  kindred  spirit  to  supply  its  losses. 
In  school,  common  experiences  and  pursuits,  and  dependence  upon 
each  other  for  sympathy,  society,  and  for  care  in  sickness,  serve  to 
unite  young  people  very  closely.  Expect  therefore  when  you  go  to 
school,  to  find  friends  and  to  cultivate  friendship.  Be  also  careful 
and  not  form  hasty  friendships.  Our  friends  have  undoubtedly  much 
influence  on  our  manners,  and  modes  of  thought  'A  man  is  known 
by  the  company  that  he  keeps,'  and  'evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners.'  If  we  form  a  friendship,  we  should  desire  that  it 
should  be  sincere,  reciprocal,  and  lasting,  for  this  is  the  ideal  of 
friendship.  But  to  reach  this  ideal,  friendship  must  have  a  solid 


176  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

basis,  and  that  basis  must  be  the  truly  good  qualities  of  our  friend. 
Showy  qualities  may  dazzle  for  a  time,  but  they  are  evanescent  as 
the  froth  on  champagne,  of  which  a  poet  says: 

"  '  Lily   on  liquid  roses  floating.'  " 

"That  is  a  beautiful  line,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  So  it  is ;  and  pity  that  it  did  not  spring  from  a  worthier  subject 
So,  friendship  is  a  beautiful  thing,  and  we  should  desire  it  to  be 
fixed  on  a  worthy  object.  Be  not  hasty  to  choose  friends  and  you 
will  not  be  quick  to  lose  them.  When  you  find  in  school  a  young 
person  loud,  showy,  extravagant,  always  talking  about  self,  criticising 
the  teachers,  having  a  deal  of  spare  time  in  study  hours,  and  not  re- 
spected by  the  school  faculty,  do  not  choose  such  a  person  for  a 
friend.  If  you  find  a  young  person  who  sneers  at  the  Bible,  at  old- 
fashioned  notions,  gets  excused  frequently  from  church,  is  absent 
from  chapel,  and  inattentive  when  present  at  chapel  exercises,  do 
not  choose  such  a  person  for  friends,  even  if  they  have  a  certain 
amount  of  brilliant  qualities,  and  are  good  students.  You  will  find 
these  young  scoffers — wells  without  water.  When  you  make  a  friend 
at  school  let  your  relatives  at  home  know  all  about  it,  describe  your 
acquaintance  to  them  and  take  the  friend  home  with  you.  Your 
parents  will  help  you  to  form  a  sound  judgment,  and  it  is  well  to 
know  what  .people  are  in  home  as  well  as  school  life.  Do  not  let 
your  school  friendships  chill  your  hearts  to  dear  ones  at  home  and 
interfere  with  your  fulfilment  of  school  duties,  for  you  must  never 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  primary  object  of  your  being  at  school 
is,  to  make  progress  in  study." 

"  The  opposite  of  school  friendships  are  school  rivalries,"  said 
Henry,  "  and  you  have  already  told  us  that  these  are  not  to  degen- 
erate into  enmities,  but  are  to  serve  their  highest  use  in  provoking  to 
good  works." 

"And  the  theme  next  after  school  friendships  seems  to  be — as 
often  falls  out — school  flirtations,"  said  Peter,  merrily. 


EXIGENCIES   OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  177 

"  That  is,  in  mixed  schools  ?  "  said  Laura,  inquiringly. 

"  No,  indeed,  not  altogether,"  cried  Peter ;  "  I  have  been  in  schools, 
and  I  have  lived  in  towns  where  schools  were,  and  I  found  a  deal  of 
flirting,  where  the  school  might  have  been  only  for  boys  or  only  for, 
girls.  Haven't  I  seen  handkerchiefs  waved  or  dropped,  notes  left  in 
the  most  unsuspicious  places ;  have  I  not  known  that  some  of  these 
schools  kept  carrier-pigeons  :  usually  in  the  person  of  some  little 
chap  especially  susceptible  to  the  charms  of  ten  cent  pieces,  or  some 
girl  as  homely  as  Satan  who  could  only  mix  up  in  love  affairs  at 
second  hand  ?  " 

"The  young  messengers  would  be  infinitely  obliged  to  you  for 
your  description,"  said  Violet,  amid  much  laughter. 

"And,"  continued  Peter,  waxing  warm,  "don't  I  know  how  the 
confectioners  and  the  florists  lend  themselves  to  these  pretty  in- 
trigues, exchanging  gifts  of  flowers  and  bon-bons  for  the  youthful 
lovers  ?  Haven't  I  seen  the  boys  flourishing  somebody's  ribbon  in 
their  button-hole,  and  girls  exchanging  photographs  with  their 
swains — yes,  under  the  very  nose  of  their  unconscious  teacher? 
Do  I  not  know  that  letters,  and  keepsakes,  and  vows  of  everlasting 
constancy  are  exchanged,  even  in  church,  slipped  into  the  Bibles  and 
other  books,  or  under  the  seat  cushions?" 

"  I  declare,  Peter,"  quoth  Catherine,  "  you  are  wiser  in  your  gener- 
ation than  the  children  of  light." 

"  Sir,"  said  Robert,  to  the  Stranger,  "  what  do  yon  think  of  this 
subject  ?  " 

"  I  think  you  are  developing  it  pretty  well  among  yourselves. 
Pray  continue  the  discussion." 

"  I  should  say,"  remarked  John  Frederick,  "  that  any  lasting  love 
affair  very  seldom  results  from  these  school  flirtations.  But  at  the 
same  time  people  say  and  do  a  good  deal  of  which  they  are  after- 
wards ashamed.  It  must  be  rather  vexing  to  a  lady  to  see  at  her 
wedding  three  or  four  young  fellows  to  whom,  while  at  school, 
she  promised  her  entire  heart  and  constancy.  And  also  it  must  be 
rather  embarrassing  for  a  man  with  a  wife  and  two  or  three  children, 
12 


178  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

when  he  goes  into  the  country  for  a  summer  trip,  to  come  across  one 
or  two  young  ladies  whom  he  once  vowed  that  he  adored,  whose 
picture  and  a  lock  of  whose  hair  he  carried  next  his  heart,  and  by 
corresponding  with  whom  he  disgusted  his  father,  and  enraged  a 
whole  school  faculty,  and  possibly  with  whom  he  had  on  various  oc- 
casions made  desperate  efforts  to  elope.  I  had  an  uncle — a  minister, 
too — who  was  introduced  at  a  party  to  a  Mrs.  Somebody,  and  he  and 
she  got  very  red  in  the  face  because,  when  they  were  sixteen  and 
seventeen  years  old,  these  two  had  one  afternoon  called  on  six  min- 
isters, asking  them  to  marry  them,  and  had  been  refused  on  account 
of  youthfulness.  A  few  years  and  some  hard  studying  had  quenched 
their  early  flame,  but  its  ashes  for  the  minute  bothered  them  ! " 

"I  shall  talk  to  you  of  love,  flirtations,  and  marriage  at  some 
future  time,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  I  will  now  say  to  you  that,  con- 
cerning these  things  at  school,  an  undue  excitement  possesses  the 
youthful  mind,  and  this  excitement  is  the  product  of  ignorance.  The 
pretty  maid  at  school,  with  whom  some  youth  appears  to  fall  vio- 
lently in  love,  imagines  that  this  is  a  most  wonderful  experience,  such 
as  one  never  had  before.  She  becomes  in  her  own  excited  imagina- 
tion the  heroine  of  a  three  volume  novel.  What  a  fascination,  what 
a  subtle  charm  there  must  be  in  her  appearance  thus  to  bring  a 
sighing  adorer  to  her  feet !  She  does  not  realize  that  she  and  her 
adorer  are  merely  obeying  a  law  of  our  fallen  nature,  that  while 
young,  immature  in  judgment,  and  heedless  of  reason,  we  are  all 
bound  in  one  way  or  another  to  make  fools  of  ourselves.  The 
elderly  people,  whom  Miss  supposes  to  be  looking  on  in  admiration 
of  her  marvellous  triumphs  and  experiences,  are  merely  smiling  in 
their  sleeves,  and  saying:  'Ah,  dear  silly  child.  I  was  just  so  foolish 
half  a  dozen  times  over,  and  then  I  thought  it  smart ! '  The  lad  who 
falls  desperately  in  love — across  the  church  perhaps — with  some 
charming  damsel,  quite  wild  in  his  first  love,  dreams  that  no  one 
ever  felt  so  exalted  a  flame  before — that  his  passion  is  deep  as  the 
sea  and  lasting  as  the  hills.  My  dear  lad,  your  father  could  tell  you 
better1.  He  fancied  himself  undyingly  in  love  some  six  several  times, 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE.  179 

and  when  he  met  your  mother  he  perceived  that  hitherto  he  had 
never  been  in  love.  In  fact,  my  dearest  young  friends,  these  mar- 
vellous experiences,  that  take  away  your  breath,  and  carry  you  off 
your  feet,  and  which  you  fancy  new  as  a  fourth  dimension,  are  old, 
old  and  threadbare !  But,  being  young,  new,  you  are  deceived. 
These  affairs  are  ages  old,  worn  out  to  every  generation  that  has 
trodden  the  earth :  strange  only  to  you  because  you  are  ignorant. 
Wherefore,  if  you  would  be  wiser  than  your  fellows,  drop  them. 
They  fritter  away  your  valuable  working  time,  attenuate  your 
feelings,  undermine  your  character,  as  water  percolating  a  founda- 
tion harms  it.  And  if  you  must  tell  this  same  old  story,  adding 
your  little  quota  to  the  Tales  of  Mother  Goose,  in  the  name  of 
Common-sense  be  done  with  it  as  fast  as  you  can !  " 

There  was  a  general  smile  among  the  young  people  in  the  Bureau. 

"This  has  been  the  most  interesting  part  of  your  discourse,"  said 
Miss  Violet,  demurely. 

"There  is  another  point  on  which  I  would  say  a  few  words. 
Often  in  schools  there  arises  a  crisis :  a  crisis  of  rebellion  or  discon- 
tent Youthful  spirits  effervesce  in  disorder.  Be  watchful  for  the 
signs  of  such  an  emeute,  and  instead  of  allowing  yourself  to  be 
carried  away  by  it,  get  a  grammar  and  a  dictionary,  attack  your 
hardest  lesson,  shut  yourself  in  your  room,  and  maintain  -your  soul 
in  peace  until  the  row  is  over.  Thus  you  will  have  nothing  to  blush 
for,  nothing  to  be  reprimanded  for,  nothing  to  apologize  for.  Fre- 
quently in  such  a  crisis  young  people  throw  away  their  whole  school 
career,  and  bring  themselves  into  lasting  disgrace  and  mortify  their 
best  friends.  Of  all  things,  as  students,  cultivate  self-control:  hold 
the  reins  over  yourselves :  if  you  fail  to  do  that,  who  is  there  that 
can  do  it  for  you  ?  " 

"  In  speaking  of  school  friendships,"  said  Robert,  "  what  you  said 
about  avoiding  the  acquaintance  of  those  who  sneered  at  religion 
brought  to  my  mind  the  subject  of  Religion  in  Schools.  What  will 
you  say  of  that  ?  Is  it  needful  to  have  in  schools,  the  Bible,  chapel 
exercises,  and  rules  about  attending  Sabbath  services  ?  " 


180  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"When  a  school  cuts  itself  loose  from  religion,"  replied  the 
Stranger,  "  it  deprives  itself  of  a  basis  for  the  authority  it  asserts, 
and  of  an  object  for  the  culture  that  it  offers.  If  man  dies  as  a  dog 
dieth — let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die.  If  when  a  man 
dies  he  shall  live  again,  it  is  the  maddest  folly  t6  ignore  that  longer 
life,  and  required  preparation  for  it.  In  regard  to  religion  as  a  basis 
of  authority  of  one  human  over  another,  let  me  ask  where  else  shall 
we  find  a  basis  ?  A  man  may  claim  ~to  rule  me  because  he  has 
more  knowledge  than  I  have,  but  I  may  have  more  strength  than  he, 
and  a  third  party  may  have  more  wealth  than  either  of  us,  and  a 
fourth  may  exceed  in  ancestry.  Now,  shall  brains,  muscle,  money, 
or  blood  bear  rule  ?  The  true  basis  of  authority  is  that  it  is  author- 
ity delegated  by  a  common  Author  to  his  creatures.  God  is  the 
fountain  of  authority,  and  he  vests  it  in  certain  positions,  and  they 
who  hold  these  positions  claim  their  power  by  right  of  the  Divine  fiat, 
and  they  maintain  themselves  in  it  by  that  consciousness  that  exists 
in  the  minds  of  men  of  God's  distributive  right.  In  regard  to  cul- 
ture, the  end  of  study  is  progress,  and  progress  is  man's  motion 
toward  God,  the  source  of  his  being.  If  you  eliminate  religion  from 
a  school,  you  take  away  its  right  to  assert  laws,  and  any  goal  of  its 
instructions." 

"  On  this  argument  you  would  advocate  the  Bible  in  the  public 
schools  ?  "  said  John  Frederick. 

"  The  aim  of  the  public  school  is  to  create  good  citizens.  A  good 
citizen  must  understand  his  duty  and  brotherhood  to  his  neighbor, 
and  his  allegiance  to  the  law  of  his  land.  Now  the  foundation  of 
our  brotherly  and  benevolent  feelings  is  in  the  LORD'S  PRAYER; 
while,  as  regards  law,  the  basis  of  all  civil  law  is  found  in  the  Ten 
Commandments.  Human  responsibility,  moral  duty,  good  order  as 
it  belongs  to  civil  life,  are  primarily  contained  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. In  the  Lord's  Prayer  you  have  the  alphabet  of  hu- 
man brotherhood — in  the  Ten  Commandments  you  have  the  al- 
phabet of  law,  morals  and  social  order.  I  do  not  see  how  you  can 
train  up  a  good  citizen,  without  inculcating  these  two  alphabets,  as 


EXIGENCIES  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE. 


181 


well  as  the  twenty-six  letters  of  the  English  language.  For  the  rest 
one  would  merely  inquire,  if  it  is  good  sense  in  a  country  that  recog- 
nizes a  Divine  King  and  Creator  of  the  universe,  to  ignore  in  its 
schools  the  bock  containing  the  formulated  laws  of  his  kingdom. 
If  we  regard  our  schools  as  places  of  merely  literary  instruction,  no 
book  belongs  so  generally  to  our  literature  as  the  Bible;  and  if  we 
believe  that  the  pupils  in  our  schools  are  immortal  beings,  it  is  at 
least  open  to  question,  whether  in  their  school  education  we  should 
not  give  them  some  chart  and  guide  in  their  journey  toward  im- 
mortality." 


CHAPTER  TENTH. 

ENTERING    INTO   SOCIETY. 

HE  STRANGER  was  leaning  on  his  gate  one  even- 
ing, waiting  in  the  gathering  twilight  for  his  young 
people  to  assemble.  He  mused  of  the  rapid  flight 
of  time,  and  considered  how,  since  he  came  to  the 
Oaks,  the  young  people  had  been  growing  up,  and 
what  a  change  there  was  in  them.  Those  who  had  been  but  boy 
and  girl  were  now  almost  man  and  woman.  Samuel  was  engaged 
to  Catherine;  Peter  was  partner  in  a  store,  and  John  Frederick  was 
going  through  college.  There  were  yet  many  themes  on  which  to 
talk  to  them,  and  the  subjects  which  now  claimed  especially  their 
attention  were  such  as  took  hold  of  social  life. 

As  he  stood  waiting,  he  heard  two  persons  coming  up  the  road, 
arguing  briskly.  They  were  Catherine  and  Violet. 

"  We  are  disputing,"  said  the  girls,  when  they  reached  their  friend, 
"  which  is  the  greater  evil — to  go  into  society  too  much,  or  too 
little?" 

"  I  say,"  cried  Violet,  "  that  it  is  wrong  and  selfish  to  withdraw 
fro'm  society.  There  is  Mrs.  — — 

"  '  So  mused  the  lovely  Mrs.  Dash : 
'Tis  wrong  to  mention  names — '  " 

hummed  their  host. 

"  Well — Mrs.  Somebody  then  :  she  will  not  go  to  a  festival,  a  sup- 
per, a  social,  a  concert,  a  party;  always  the  one  calm,  imperturbable 
excuse,  '  she  never  goes  out,'  and  she  might  be  a  very  great  help  to 

(182) 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  183 

society  if  she  would,  and  confer  a  deal  of  pleasure  by  going  out 
while  she  shuts  herself  up  at  home,  because  she  prefers  zV." 

"  That  seems  to  me  a  minor,  a  negative  error,  if  it  is  an  error  at 
.all,"  said  Catherine.  "  I  know  another  lady  who  is  so  fond  of  going 
out  that  she  is  miserable  if  she  must  remain  at  home  four  consecu- 
tive days.  She  is  entirely  dependent  on  society  for  her  happiness, 
and  if  she  is  left  at  all  to  herself,  if  she  is  sick,  or  is  kept  in  by  any 
trouble,  she  is  wretched.  Now  I  think  this  is  a  great  and  positive 
evil." 

"  There  is  reason  in  all  things,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"  Let  us  hear  this  question  discussed,"  cried  Catherine,  as  they 
went  up  the  gravel  walk. 

"  We  are  going  to  talk  about '  Entering  Into  Society,'"  announced 
Violet,  as  they  entered  the  room. 

"  I  think,"  said  Robert,  "  that  I  should  like  society  well  enough 
after  I  became  fairly  accustomed  to  it.  But  it  is  the  entering  that 
troubles  one:  like  the  first  plunge  into  a  cold  bath." 

"  We  are  so  afraid  we  shall  do  something  foolish,  or  wrong,"  said 
George  ;  "we  feel  awkward,  and  the  feeling  makes  us  more  awkward 
than  we  naturally  are.  There  are  great  questions  confronting  us — 
as  how  we  shall  enter  a  room,  and  still  worse,  how  we  shall  get  out 
of  it,  and  what  we  shall  do  with  our  hands  and  feet  while  we  are  in 
there  ?  Young  men  are  at  a  great  disadvantage ;  girls  can  be  much 
more  graceful,  and  their  very  dress  is  graceful.  Besides,  while  they 
are  little,  they  are  in  the  house  more,  and  are  seeing  people,  and 
learning  how  to  behave,  while  we  boys  are  out  playing  base-ball  or 
climbing  trees.  Then  when  these  things  cease  to  charm  us,  and 
we  want  to  go  into  society  and  see  the  girls,  they  torture  us  hor- 
ribly, by  always  seeming  at  their  ease,  and  by  smiling  at  our 
mistakes!" 

"  One  of  the  finest  marks  of  a  young  lady,  of  a  true  lady,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  is,  that  she  strives  to  put  every  one  as  much  at  their  ease 
as  she  is  herself;  and  the  more  awkward  a  person  is,  the  more  she 
takes  compassion  on  him  and  smooths  his  way." 


184  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  I'm  afraid  that's  an  Ideal  Young  Lady — except  these  girls  here, 
of  course,"  said  Robert. 

"  Though  all  that  Robert  has  said  may  be  true,"  remarked  Peter, 
"  it  is  also  true,  that  the  longer  we,  through  bashfulness,  withdraw 
ourselves  from  society,  the  more  awkward  we  are." 

"  If  it  were  not  for  this  awkwardness,  we  could  get  on  very  well," 
said  George ;  "  but  what  to  do  about  that  ?  It  meets  us  and  con- 
founds us  everywhere ;  fills  us  with  apprehension  before  we  go  out, 
for  fear  of  what  we  may  do ;  and  with  torture  after  we  come  in,  for 
thinking  of  what  we  have  done.  We  are  always  in  our  own  way. 
There  is  too  much  of  us,  somehow.  There  was  a  story  in  the  old 
reading  books  about  a  bashful  man :  I  could  sympathize  with  that 
man." 

"Why  are  our  hands  and  feet  in  our  way?"  asked  Peter;  "they 
are  needful  appendages,  and  yet  they  trouble  us ;  it  must  be  that  it 
is  because  there  are  so  many  of  them ;  our  head  never  troubles  us, 
for  that  is  but  one." 

"  It  is  where  we  cannot  see  it,"  said  John  Frederick.  "  We  see 
our  hands  and  feet,  and  that  disturbs  us :  we  begin  to  think  about 
them.  I  know  at  college  the  worst  thing  about  the  speaking  is  the 
making  your  bows,  and  taking  care  of  your  hands  and  feet  on  the 
stage." 

"  I've  noticed  that  in  young  speakers,"  said  Violet;  "in  very  young 
ministers  sometimes.  If  they  have  no  desk  to  shelter  their  self- 
consciousness,  they  have  a  sad  time.  I  have  seen  such  a  one  on  the 
platform ;  he  lays  his  hands  on  his  knees,  carefully  turns  his  toes  in, 
and  sits  in  mental  agonies,  lest  some  one  shall  suspect  him  of  wearing 
a  No.  10;  lest  there  is  a  mud  spot  on  his  shining  varnish;  lest  his  cuffs 
show  too  much  or  too  little,  or  lest  his  hands  look  abnormally  large. 
Spread  out  before  him,  in  his  excited  state  of  mind,  he  thinks  they 
look  like  the  wings  of  an  eagle !  The  moment  to  speak  comes,  and 
glad  to  hide  at  least  half  himself  behind  a  desk,  he  bounces  up  as  if 
on  springs,  and  rolls  as  on  casters  to  his  appointed  place.  All  his 
motions  are  mechanical." 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  185 

"Violet,  you  have  touched  the  root  of  the  matter,"  said  the 
Stranger;  "the  beginning  of  all  awkwardness  is — self-consciousness. 
Here  is  a  fundamental  principle  :  If  we  can  forget  ourselves,  we  are  at 
case.  If  we  do  forget  ourselves,  we  are  likely  to  be  mindful  of 
others  ;  and  this  thoughtfulness  of  others,  confers  on  the  most  humbly 
bred  the  best  of  good  manners.  Now  as  to  entering  society,  we,  as 
parts  of  a  social  system,  should  all  take  our  share  in  social  life.  The 
circumstances  of  our  individual  lives  will  set  the  limit  of  our  share 
in  society.  Narrow  means,  family  cares,  health,  business,  all  will 
have  a  part  in  fixing  the  share  we  shall  take  in  society.  If  we  with- 
draw from  society  altogether,  we  deprive  ourselves  of  opportunity  of 
adding  to  the  happiness  of  others ;  we  lose  some  share  of  the  influence 
that  we  might  exert,  and  by  narrowing  the  sphere  of  our  own  interests 
and  sympathies,  we  narrow  our  own  natures,  and  lessen  our  own 
happiness." 

"  That  is  very  much  what  I  was  trying  to  tell  Catherine,"  said 
Violet. 

"  But  what  is  worse,"  said  Catherine,  "  than  to  see  a  man  so  fond 
of  society  that  he  leaves  his  wife  and  his  children  lonely,  perhaps  ill, 
while  he  amuses  himself  at  public  places?  or,  what  is  worse,  than  to 
see  a  woman,  weary  of  her  own  home,  leave  her  children  to  servants 
and  neglect  her  duties,  or,  while  forced  to  stay  and  perform  them, 
pine  because  she  is  so  wildly  craving  for  the  pleasures  of  society?" 

"To  do  a  thing  is  not  necessarily  to  over-do,"  quoth  Peter;  but 
Samuel  looked  at  him  with  displeasure. 

Now  Catherine  was  a  girl  of  the  genus  "  Domestic  Angel " — a 
class  growing  rare,  and  she  was  an  especial  favorite  with  the 
Stranger.  He  looked  at  her  graciously.  "  My  Catherine,"  he  said, 
"  if  one  were  obliged  to  err,  on  one  side  or  the  other  of  this  ques- 
tion, it  would  indeed  be  better  to  go  into  society  too  little,  rather 
than  too  much.  But  there  is  hardiy  any  duty  that  meets  us  in  life 
where  we  cannot  come  short  of,  or  overstep,  justice.  It  is  part  of 
our  individual  training  to  learn  to  harmonize  our  duties,  and  to  give 
each  one  its  righteous  measure." 


186  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  When  we  are  little  fellows,"  said  Samuel,  "  we  all  play  together 
whenever  we  have  a  chance,  and  think  no  more  about  it.  While  we 
are  going  to  school,  until  we  are  seventeen  or  eighteen,  I  suppose  we 
should  take  a  very  moderate  part  in  society  life  and  entertainments, 
as  it  will  hinder  us  in  our  studies.  But  after  that  we  begin  to  be  in- 
vited out,  and  we  want  to  go  out  among  people,  and  then  a  great 
many  questions  arise.  We  do  not  know  the  precise  etiquette  we 
should  follow,  or  the  dress  that  we  should  wear;  and  some  of  us  are 
not  able  to  incur  any  large  expenses  in  going  to  parties  or  in  giving 
parties.  And  worse  than  all  is  this  awkwardness,  this  dread  of 
making  one's  self  ridiculous.  This  often  keeps  us  out  of  society,  and 
the  longer  we  wait  the  worse  it  is." 

"  But,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  we  are  told  that  comes  from  self- 
consciousness — from  thinking  too  much  of  ourselves.  Now  all  we 
have  to  do  is  to  get  to  thinking  of  other  people.  There  is  something 
in  that.  I  have  noticed  that  young  men  are  more  at  ease  after  they 
have  fallen  in  love!" 

"  I  should  like  to  know  why  this  self-consciousness  so  afflicts  us 
young  people,"  said  George. 

"  It  is  because  the  illusions  of  childhood  have  not  worn  off,"  said 
the  Stranger.  "  '  The  baby  new  to  earth  and  sky '  is  its  own  universe, 
and  sees  around  it  a  few  people  created  for  its  own  service.  Youth 
finds  itself  still  the  central  part  of  its  own  world — 

"  'As  thro'  the  frame  that  hinds  him  in, 
His  isolation  grows  defined.' 

But  as  early  maturity  comes,  what  with  some  trips,  and  falls,  and 
some  judicious  snubbing  from  the  opposite  sex,  this  laughter  in  the 
eyes  of  these  girls,  whereof  George  complains,  he  begins  to  find  that 
he  is  only  a  part,  a  small  part,  of  creation.  As  maturity  advances,  we 
grow  less  and  less  in  our  own  view  of  ourselves,  and  finally  shrink 
into  our  own  tiny  place  in  the  world,  and  feeling  ourselves,  for  the 
most  part,  unobserved,  we  are  content." 

"You  are  talking  as  if  bashfulness  only  belonged  to  boys!"  cried 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  187 

Laura.  "Oh,  you  are  ever  so  much  mistaken;  and,  as  to  our  dress 
being  graceful,  ah,  if  you  only  knew!  Why  you  are  in  the  most 
horrible  trouble  whether  you  have  chosen  the  proper  color,  or  style, 
and  if  your  skirt  hangs  all  right.  Now  the  tailor  settles  all  that  for 
the  young  men.  And  does  any  one  know  how  miserable  it  feels  to 
sit  half  a  morning,  wondering  how  you  shall  answer  a  note  of  invita- 
tion? Why  once  I  went  through  agonies  declining  an  invitation  to 
a  wedding,  and  at  last  I  finished  it  and  sent  my  'congratulations  to 
the  bride,'  and  forgot  to  add  the  groom,  and  she  was  terribly  angry 
at  me,  for  she  was  not  very  young,  and  she  thought  I  meant  that  she 
was  more  glad  to  be  married  than  he  was!  Embarrassment!  Do 
the  boys  know  how  detestable  it  is  to  feel  your  face  flushing  scarlet 
when  you  are  looked  at,  and  to  hesitate  and  stammer,  and  not  know 
just  what  you  ought  to  say  ?  " 

"  I  think  all  that  looks  lovely"  said  John  Frederick,  gazing  at 
Laura  with  great  earnestness. 

"And  you  girls  can  laugh,"  said  Thomas,  "and  your  laugh  sounds 
nicely,  and  we  fellows  make  such  a  shocking  noise  about  it." 

"We  can  giggle,  I  guess  you  mean,"  said  Violet,  "and  it  is  all 
nervousness,  and  we  don't  like  it  at  all." 

"  Come,  come,"  said  the  Stranger,  ".our  discussion  is  becoming 
wandering  and  illogical;  we  move  in  various  circles  around  the  idea 
of  embarrassment,  instead  of  in  straight  lines  to  some  end.  Let 
us  disentangle  this  theme. 

"As  to  what  we  shall  wear,  which  Samuel  says  is  one  of  the 
anxieties ;  let  us  leave  that  for  a  separate  discussion.  The  various 
little  rules  of  etiquette  we  will  also  set  aside  for  some  other  evening. 
Models  for  writing,  accepting  and  declining  invitations,  shall  have  a 
talk  to  themselves.  All  these  points,  then,  will  be  considered  tabooed 
this  evening.  I  will  begin  by  giving  you  four  grand  rules  for  good 
manners — not  for  points  of  etiquette: 

"First.     Forget  yourselves. 

"Second.     Be  thoughtful  for  other  people. 

"Third.  Do  not  be  hasty  in  judging.  Socrates,  it  is  said,  re- 
sembled Silenus. 


188  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Fourth.  Do  not  ridicule  people.  Mimicry  is  a  very  vulgar  ac- 
complishment. Any  fool  can  turn  into  ridicule  people  much  wiser 
than  himself. 

"  If  you  enter  society  adhering  to  these  four  rules,  you  will  find 
your  awkwardness  vanishing;  you  will  enjoy  yourself;  you  will  have 
the  agreeable  consciousness  of  making  others  comfortable,  and  you 
will  not  have  to  regret  hasty,  unkindly  words  or  deeds.  Another 
important  point  for  you  to  remember  is,  that  we  are  creatures  of 
habit.  No  sceptre  is  more  potent  over  us  than  that  of  our  customs. 
We  can  so  habituate  ourselves  to  withdrawing  from  the  society  of 
our  fellows  that  the  very  thought  of  seeing  company,  at  home  or 
abroad,  will  be  distressing  to  us.  We  shall  have  a  mania  of  isola- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  we  can  so  accustom  ourselves  to  being  in 
society,  and  taking  share  in  its  pleasures,  that  we  shall  be  miserable 
if  we  are  not  running  the  streets,  receiving  or  paying  calls,  or  at- 
tending some  kind  of  a  party  or  exhibition.  Recognizing  this 
peculiar  susceptibility  to  the  reign  of  habit,  we  must  begin  by 
taking  exactly  such  share  in  social  life  as  is  just  to  ourselves  and 
others." 

"And  this  share  will  vary  with  the  circumstances  of  the  indi- 
vidual," said  Robert. 

"  Especially  with  their  pecuniary  circumstances,"  said  Samuel. 
"  Many  people,  who  would  enjoy  society  and  add  much  to  its  charm, 
are  hindered  from  mingling  in  it,  because  their  fortunes  will  not  per- 
mit them  to  satisfy  its  claims." 

"This  is  a  point,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  where  we  Americans  err 
greatly,  and  more  than  other  nations.  An  English  lady  once  said 
to  me  that  in  the  United  States  social  life  was  made  a  much  greater 
burden  than  in  her  own  country.  In  dress  and  entertainment  we  are 
showy  and  extravagant.  There  is  an  emulation  in  the  style  of  our 
clothing,  and  of  receiving  our  friends — an  emulation  which  devours 
much  time  and  much  money,  while  it  is  not  productive  of  a  propor- 
tionate measure  of  enjoyment.  In  this  country  if  a  lady  invites  a 
few  friends  to  tea,  she  must  load  her  table  with  delicacies  of  all 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  189 

kinds;  she  must  have  tea  and  coffee,  three  or  four  varieties  of  cake, 
as  many  of  meats,  and  as  many  of  preserved  fruits.  She  wearies 
herself  and  her  household,  and  often  cripples  her  domestic  resources, 
in  behalf  of  a  display  that  is  really  damaging  to  the  digestion  and 
comfort  of  her  guests.  At  the  same  time  the  effect  on  her  neighbors 
is  this:  that  if  they  are  really  unable  to  arrange  a  table  as  lavishly, 
they  refuse  either  to  give  or  to  accept  invitations,  and  so  diminish 
the  social  life  and  pleasures  of  their  circle." 

"  That  is  especially  so,"  said  Catherine,  "  in  our  church  suppers, 
sociables,  sewing  societies  and  other  friendly  gatherings.  The  first 
ladies  who  give  them  want  all  to  be  nice,  and  they  go  quite  up  to 
any  reasonable  limit.  The  next  ladies  in  charge  are  so  afraid  of 
falling  behind  these  that  they  do  a  little  more ;  and  so  on  until,  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  season,  the  whole  plan  becomes  a  tax  and  a 
torment,  and  each  year  many  ladies  refuse  to  have  any  part  in  these 
things,  because  they  know  that  they  will  be  carried  beyond  what 
their  health  and  purses  will  allow." 

"  Now  in  England,  France  or  Germany,  at  any  quiet  tea  party  or 
evening  visit  for  a  few  friends,  one  kind  of  cake,  one  of  fruit,  a  dish 
of  sandwiches,  or  a  plate  of  buttered*biscuits,  accompanied  by  a  plate 
of  thinly  sliced  meat,  with  a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee,  is  considered  quite 
enough  entertainment.  These  simple  viands  will  be  commended  by 
fine  and  snowy  table  linen,  bright  china  and  silver,  a  centre-piece  of 
flowers  and  various  little  ornaments  which  give  a  festive  air  to  the 
table." 

"  I  think,  myself,  that  would  be  nicer,"  said  Laura,  "and  then  one 
could  receive  company  oftener." 

"And  as  to  dress,  here  we  Americans  exceed  our  trans-Atlantic 
cousins.  The  dress  for  an  entertainment  must  often  cost  so  much 
that  the  invitation  is  refused.  A  young  lady  may  have  several  suit- 
able dresses,  but  if  she  has  appeared  in  each  a  few  times,  she  would 
rather  remain  at  home  than  'be  seen  in  these  old  things.'  Now  what 
do  you  think  of  three  young  ladies,  highly  educated,  too,  going  to  a 
'garden  party'  or  out-of-doors  breakfast,  at  a  bishop's,  where  there 


190  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

were  fifty  guests — and  going  dressed  in  pretty  suits  of  brown  linen, 
well  made,  and  which  they  had  made  themselves,  and  felt  free  to 
say  so?" 

"Oh,  sir,  did  they  do  it?"  cried  Laura,  wild-eyed. 

"  Truly  they  did.  They  were  well-born  and  well-bred,  but  their 
father  was  not  rich,  and  his  family  was  large.  They  could  not  rural- 
ize at  the  garden  party  in  puffed  and  shirred  silks,  with  falls  of  lace. 
Some  rich  people  there  wore  these  things,  but  these  girls  had  no 
idea  of  depriving  themselves  of  a  nice  time,  because  they  could  not 
vie  with  the  finest.  They  wore  what  they  could  afford,  and  they 
looked  '  lovely  in  simplicity,'  and  had  a  charming  morning  of  it, 
too." 

"It  does  look  sensible,"  said  Violet;  "but  there  are  few  who  dare 
do  it.  I  know  I  have  refused  invitations  because  I  felt  sure  a  good 
many  who  accepted  would  be  more  stylishly  dressed  than  I  could 
afford.  And  my  cousin  Rhoda  would  not  go  to  a  party  which  she 
had  long  looked  forward  to — refused,  because  her  mother  would  not 
buy  her  an  embroidered  muslin,  when  she  had  a  white  Swiss,  and 
also  a  pink  checked  silk.  She  had  worn  these  several  times.  Now 
do  you  know,  /  did  not  blame  Rhoda.  One  does  not  want  to  be 
singular." 

"  But,  you  see,"  cried  the  shrewd  Peter,  "  if  a  good  many  were 
independent  enough  to  take  this  course,  'one  would  no  longer  be 
singular.'  They  would  be  doing  as  other  people  do." 

"  If,"  said  their  friend,  "  you  young  people  could  find  moral 
courage,  when  you  are  entering  society,  to  resolve  to  dress  and  en- 
tertain according  to  your  means,  and  then  live  up  to  that  rule,  I  feel 
sure  a  better  social  spirit  would  be  the  result.  A  great  many  parents 
really  distress  themselves,  as  their  children  are  growing  up,  to  pro- 
vide dress  and  social  pleasures  for  them,  because  they  aim  at  a  style 
inaugurated  by  richer  people,  and  which  is  beyond  their  own  means. 
I  have  seen  a  mother  go  fainting  and  overpowered  from  the  kitchen, 
where  she  had  worked  and  worried  far  beyond  -her  strength,  and 
consciously  beyond  her  financial  ability,  trying  to  provide  a  hand- 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  191 

some  supper  for  a  little  party  of  her  daughter's  friends.  There  must 
be  three  kinds  of  cake,  and  two  kinds  of  biscuits,  because — this 
variety  had  been  on  other  people's  tables." 

"  I  never  thought  of  this  view  of  the  matter  before,"  said  George ; 
"  but  this  does  not  look  very  independent,  does  it,  for  such  a 
boastingly  independent  people  as  the  Americans  ?  " 

"  We  have  in  social  life  set  up  two  tyrants  over  us — '  They  Say,' 
and  'What  will  People  Think.'  Two  heroes  of  our  soul,  'What  I 
Can  '  and  '  What  I  Ought,'  should  be  permitted  to  raise  a  revolution 
and  displace  these  despots." 

"  I  begin  to  see  a  little  light,"  said  Dora,  a  thoughtful  and  pleasing 
girl,  who,  with  her  three  sisters,  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Bureau. 
"  We  girls  thought  that  we  must  stay  at  home,  and  be  deprived  of 
society,  because  we  could  not  give  large  parties  nor  buy  silk  gowns. 
If  it  is  possible  to  go  among  people,  dressed  to  suit  your  own  re- 
sources, and  being  as  frank  and  happy  as  possible  about  it,  and  if 
our  friends  would  accept  and  enjoy  simple  little  entertainments  within 
our  means,  why,  we  may  get  on." 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  in  limiting  our  share  in  social  life,  by  the 
fine  clothes  that  we  can  buy,  or  the  fine  tables  that  we  can  spread, 
we  really  accuse  our  neighbors  of  an  enormous  selfishness — that  of 
preferring  their  palates,  and  their  fancies  in  dress,  to  ourselves,  and 
anything  that  mentally  and  morally  we  may  be  worth  ?  " 

"  But,  after  all,"  said  Violet,  "  the  truth  is,  that  in  our  desire  of  fine 
dress,  when  we  go  abroad,  we  are  not  thinking  of  gratifying  our 
neighbors'  taste  or  pleasing  their  eyes,  but  of  outshining  somebody 
else,  or  showing  what  we  can  do.  I  suppose  one  often  really  looks 
better  in  what  is  neat  and  plain  ;  and,  if  a  dress  is  truly  becoming,  and 
is  not  spoiled,  why  does  it  not  look  as  well  the  tenth  time  of  wearing 
as  the  first?  " 

"  We  are  talking  too  much  about  dress,"  said  Samuel ;  "  that  sub- 
ject was  set  aside  for  some  other  evening." 

"  I  wish,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  that  you  would  tell  us  if  there  is 
any  other  limit  which  we  should  sot  ourselves  on  entering  society — 


192  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

any  limit  except  that  of  how  much  time  we  should  devote  to  social 
pleasures." 

"Undoubtedly,  we  must  have  a  health  limit.  Where  any  phase  of 
social  enjoyment  is  prejudicial  to  our  health,  from  that  we  must  with- 
draw ourselves.  Suicide  may  be  slow  as  well  as  sudden,  and  the 
command  is :  '  Do  thyself  no  harm.'  We  must  also  remember  the 
moral  limit.  We  guarded  that  in  a  measure  in  our  discussion  of 
amusements  ;  but  added  to  the  question  what  we  may  do,  is  that 
other  question,  in  whose  company  we  may  be  ?  Here  is  a  matter 
of  great  importance  to  the  young  person,  first  taking  a  place  in  social 
life.  Be  very  careful  what  company  you  keep.  The  Scripture  direc- 
tion, *  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,'  is  addressed  rather  to 
experienced  heads  of  families  than  to  the  unguarded  heart  of  youth. 
Confer  your  friendship  but  slowly  upon  strangers.  We  owe  it  to 
ourselves,  and  to  the  purity  of  society,  to  investigate  the  character 
and  antecedents  of  those  who  present  themselves  for  our  acquaintance. 
Not  a  fine  name,  a  fine  story,  a  fine  dress,  not  a  pleasing  face,  is  to  be 
a  passport  to  your  good  graces.  Courtesy,  not  intimacy,  is  all  that  we 
should  confer  on  those  of  whose  real  natures  we  know  little  or 
nothing.  How  many  a  young  person's  life  has  been  wrecked  by  a 
foolish  facility  in  making  acquaintances !  I  have  now  in  my  mind  a 
warm-hearted,  merry  girl,  an  indulged,  only  daughter,  who  fell  in 
love  with,  and  hastily  married,  an  English  gentleman,  who  told  great 
things  of  himself.  She  found  too  late  that  she  had  married  an  ab- 
sconding footman,  coarse,  cruel,  drunken,  and  her  heart-broken 
parents  were  nearly  ruined  by  his  dishonesty  before  they  could  pro- 
cure a  divorce  for  her." 

"  I  have  hardly  taken  up  a  large  paper  lately,"  said  Robert,  "  with- 
out coming  upon  some  story  of  swindling,  perpetrated  by  somebody 
who  introduces  himself  with  flattering  letters,  tells  a  fine  tale,  cuts  a 
dash,  borrows  money,  and  too  often  forges  a  note,  or  runs  away 
with  an  heiress." 

"And  even  the  country  is  not  free  from  these  impostors,"  said 
Samuel.  "This  village  was  beguiled  once  into  receiving  a  noted 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  193 

expre'ss  robber.  He  and  a  friend  came  here  as  wealthy  invalids  in 
search  of  a  healthful  resting-place.  They  became  acquainted  with 
everybody,  and  were  getting  particularly  intimate  with  some  young 
men  and  women,  when  Pinkerton's  detectives  swept  them  away.  I've 
heard  father  tell  about  it." 

"  You  could  fill  a  volume  with  the  impositions  practised  by  bogus 
English  lords  and  German  counts,"  said  Robert ;  "  and  I  have  no- 
ticed that  the  people  with  whom  they  become  intimate  are  generally 
young  men  with  money,  and  they  borrow  of  these  and  get  them  to 
go  security  for  them,  or  to  play  for  high  stakes,  games  of  which  they 
know  nothing." 

"  Where  I  was  at  school,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  the  banker  called 
himself  very  aristocratic,  and  was  so  particular  what  company  he 
kept,  that  he  did  not  know  half  his  neighbors,  except  in  the  way  of 
business.  A  very  stylish  man  and  wife  took  rooms  at  the  hotel,  told 
grand  stories,  and  became  intimate  with  the  exclusive  banker  and 
family.  At  the  end  of  two  months  the  result  of  the  friendship  was, 
that  the  man,  aided  by  his  wife,  robbed  the  bank  of  a  large  sum, 
nearly  murdered  the  banker  and  then  fled." 

"All  these  incidents  serve  to  make  us  cautious,"  said  Laura;  "but 
I  cannot  bear  to  be  suspicious,  and  to  look  coolly  on  strangers.  I 
always  think  they  are  lonely." 

"And  that  is  a  kind  feeling,  and  its  outcome  should  be  courtesy ; 
and,  by  a  slow  growth,  friendship,  if  they  prove  worthy.  But  hos- 
pitality, service  and  intimacy  to  strangers  belong  rather  to  middle- 
aged  and  experienced  people,  whose  emotions  are  not  so  easily 
excited,  and  who  are  better  armed  against  insidious  temptations. 
The  heads  of  families,  and  the  professional  men,  should  be  the  first 
to  investigate  the  claims  of  unknown  candidates  for  acquaintanceship." 

"  I  would  like  you  to  tell  us  of  some  pleasant  ways  of  entertaining 
guests;  of  varying  our  usual  humdrum  arid  formal  way  of  giving 
invitations  for  a  tea,  or  an  evening  party — where  every  one  knows 
that  the  same  things  will  be  said  and  done  that  have  been  said  and 
done  a  hundred  times  before." 
13 


194  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And,  if  you  please,  tell  us  of  things  that  shall  not  be 'very 
troublesome  or  costly,  so  that  we  can  often  meet  together  in 
a  social,  cheerful  and  inexpensive  way,"  said  Harriet,  Dora's 
sister. 

"  I  will  begin  by  saying  that  when  we  invite  a  company,  and  ex- 
pect to  offer  them  no  entertainment  but  eating,  it  is  natural  that  we 
should  feel  compelled  to  furnish  much  and  choice  eating.  But,  by 
your  leave,  is  not  this  treating  our  guests  as  if  they  were  a  kind  of 
two-legged  pig?" 

"  I  was  riding  in  a  stage  once,  with  a  queer  old  man,"  said  Robert, 
"and  he  went  into  a  tirade  on  men  and  pigs.  He  said  men  and  pigs 
were  more  alike  than  any  other  two  created  things;  in  looks,  acts, 
needs,  structure,  man  was  but  an  upright  pig." 

"  Last  term  in  school,"  said  Catherine,  "we  read  Taines'  'Pyrenees,' 
and  he  was  quite  in  ecstasies  over  some  pink-skinned,  thin-eared 
pigs,  among  the  Spanish  mountains." 

"  If  it  is  true  that  pigs  are  put  among  brutes,  as  caricatures  of  hu- 
manity, to  warn  us  of  possible  depths  whereto  we  can  descend,"  said 
the  Stranger,  "  then  we  should  take  warning  and  eliminate,  with  all 
zeal,  the  swinish  from  our  natures.  And  social  life  should  be  so 
ordered  as  to  do  its  part,  not  in  increasing,  but  in  diminishing  the 
brute  in  us.  Therefore  I  greatly  prefer  those  social  gatherings 
which  shall  not  centre  on  a  table  full  of  rich  provisions.  Winter  is 
drawing  near,  and  I  will  speak  first  of  some  winter  gatherings." 

"  We  do  most  of  our  visiting  in  the  winter,"  said  Laura. 

"  Two  families  can  unite  in  a  pleasant  sleighing  party.  One  young 
man  can  give  out  the  invitations  and  provide  the  sleighs.  I  think 
large  sleighs,  where  half  or  all  the  party  can  be  accommodated  in 
one,  are  better  than  those  little  cutters.  Arrangements  can  be  made 
with  some  other  young  persons,  a  number  of  miles  away,  to  be  ex- 
pecting the  party.  After  a  two  hours'  ride  they  can  reach  this  house 
between  eight  and  nine,  and  remain  for  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a- 
half.  Here,  when  all  are  in  a  good  humor  from  their  ride,  and  all 
appetites  are  sharpened  by  the  frosty  air,  very  simple  refreshments 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  195 

will  be  delightful.  Coffee,  if  possible;  sandwiches,  made  of  ham, 
tongue,  beef,  or  chicken ;  a  plain  cake,  apples  and  nuts,  will  be 
ample.  Here  two  families  will  have  exercised  hospitality  and  pro- 
vided entertainment  of  an  inexpensive  and  healthful  kind,  really 
much  pkasanter  than  an  elaborate  party.  If  young  people  would 
start  out  and  return  at  proper  hours,  not  drive  recklessly,  and  go 
only  to  private  homes,  and  not  to  hotels,  no  fault  would  be  found 
with  an  excursion  of  this  kind." 

"That  is  easy  enough,  and  would  be  delightful,"  said  Laura:  "no 
planning  a  dress,  no  lying  late  in  bed  next  day! " 

"Another  way  of  entertaining  a  few  friends  is  for  some  one  who 
lives  near  a  safe  skating  ground  to  give  their  winter  sociable  as  a 
skating  party.  Daytime  is  the  best  for  this,  though  some  prefer  a 
brilliant  moonlight,  and  so  get  light  enough  by  the  aid  of  fires 
kindled  on  the  shore.  Still,  you  will  find  it  pleasanter  if  you  have  a 
daytime  party.  Invite  for,  say  eleven  o'clock,  and  when  all  are 
gathered,  off  for  the  ice!  " 

44  Oh,  stop,  stop ! "  cried  Harriet.  "  Suppose  we  cannot  skate  ? 
Suppose — we  have  no  skates,  or  never  could  learn,  or,  some  mothers 
are  afraid  to  have  their  daughters  skate?" 

"  I  shall  provide  for  all  that.  Let  sleds  be  taken  to  the  ice,  put  a 
shawl  on  the  sled ;  on  each  let  one  young  lady  seat  herself,  and  have 
the  shawl  wrapped  up  around  her  feet,  for  this  is  colder  work  than 
skating.  Then  as  the  skater  flies  up  and  down  the  pond,  he  lays  his 
hand  on  the  young  Jady's  shoulders,  and  her  sled  skims  along  before 
him  in  triumph.  He  can  do  no  fancy  skating,  no  letter-cutting, 
curling,  nor  8's.  But  he  will  have  a  good  time,  in  spite  of  that. 
Another  plan  for  those  who  do  not  skate  is  to  have  old  arm-chairs 
of  stout  make,  fastened  on  strips  of  two-inch  plank.  You  can  do  this 
by  boring  auger  holes  for  the  chair  legs;  let  the  bits  of  wood,  one  on 
each  side,  extend  about  six  inches  beyond  the  chair,  back  and  front; 
then  put  in  the  shawl  or  buffalo  robe,  fasten  a  board  to  the  bottom 
rung  for  a  foot-rest,  wrap  your  young  lady  up,  and  push  her  along. 
This  is  popular  in  Germany  and  Holland.  Great  care  must  be  taken 


196  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

to  avoid  stones  or  logs,  half  buried  in  the  ice,  as  these  jar  the  chair 
so  that  it  breaks,  or  flings  out  the  damsel  on  her  face. 

"After  two  hours'  skating,  let  the  party  return  to  the  house,  and 
lay  off  their  wraps  in  the  sitting-room.  Now  for  a  rousing  fire  and  a 
collation." 

"Ah,  how  to  manage  that,"  cried  Catherine. 

"We  shall  all  have  that  good  domestic  genius,  mother,  aunt,  elder 
sister,  who  will  have  given  an  eye  to  our  preparations  while  we  were 
on  the  ice,"  said  Samuel. 

"And  what  shall  those  preparations  be  ?  "  demanded  Dora. 

"  You  might  have  a  dinner  regularly  spread,  and  all  sit  down  and 
partake  of  it.  But  there  is  a  deal  of  trouble  and  much  stiffness  at- 
tending that  plan." 

"  So  I  think!  "  cried  Thomas,  "and  then  the  carving.  Some  one 
of  us  must  fall  a  victim  to  that." 

"  Here  and  now  let  me  tell  you, Thomas,"  said  the  Stranger,  "that  if 
you  young  fellows  are  going  into  society,  you  must  learn  to  carve ;  and 
even  if  you  never  mean  to  enter  society,  you  must  still  learn  to  carve, 
if  you  are  to  be  family  men,  and  sit  at  the  head  of  a  table.  I  suppose 
you  do  not  wish  all  your  life  to  sit  at  the  corner  of  a  boarding-house 
table,  and  meekly  take  whatever  your  landlady  puts  on  your  plate? 
You  remember  the  '  Poet  at  the  Table'  says  that  Madam  always  puts 
all  the  good  bits  on  her  son's  plate" 

"What  odds  in  the  end?"  cried  Peter;  "if  you  are  married,  you 
must  put  all  the  nice  pieces  on  your  wife's  plate  ?  " 

"  There  is  some  pleasure  in  that,"  said  Samuel,  heartily — and 
there  was  a  round  of  applause. 

"  But  how  are  we  to  manage  that  luncheon  ?  "  cried  Laura. 

"The  most  new  and  social  way  will  be  to  hand  it  round  on  trays. 
The  young  men  will  aid  the  hostess  in  passing  the  trays.  First, 
coffee,  buttered  biscuits  and  cold  meat.  Have  the  slices  of  meat  laid 
neatly  on  a  platter,  surrounded  with  leaves  of  curled  parsley,  and 
with  thin  slices  of  lemon  scattered  on  the  meat.  If  you  choose,  you 
can  save  knives  and  forks  by  having  sandwiches,  instead  of  meat  and 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  197 

biscuit.  If  you  do  this,  put  six  halves  of  lemons  in  a  glass  dish, 
among  plenty  of  curled  parsley,  and  pass  it  with  the  sandwiches,  so 
that  those  who  like  can  take  a  half  lemon  in  their  fingers,  open  the 
sandwich  and  squeeze  a  little  juice  upon  it.  Then  lay  the  lemon 
back  in  the  dish,  or  you  will  be  like  the  luckless  American  lady  at 
St.  Petersburg." 

"  How  was  that  ?  "  cried  George. 

"At  a  dinner  party  white  grapes  were  passed.  The  lady,  accus- 
tomed to  American  profusion  of  fruit,  calmly  took  a  whole  bunch 
and  placed  it  on  her  plate,  though  of  course  she  could  not,  or  would 
not,  eat  one-half  of  them.  Upon  the  dish  of  grapes  lay  a  pair  of  sil- 
ver scissors.  Her  neighbor,  a  Russian  lord,  took  these  scissors,  cut 
off  for  himself  two  grapes,  and  sent  the  dish  on.  Our  poor  young 
lady  was  confounded,  mortified,  miserable!" 

"Well,  who  would  think  of  cutting  off  two  grapes?" 

"  If  she  had  been  observing,  and  quick  to  think,  she  would  have 
considered  that  the  scissors  meant  something,  and  that  there  were  not 
grapes  enough  for  all  the  guests  to  have  a  full  bunch.  When  you 
enter  into  society,  remember  that  you  must  be  quick-witted,  be  ob- 
serving, and  let  seeing  suggest  proper  doing." 

"  But  we  have  not  had  enough  dinner,"  said  Violet. 

"  True,  true.  You  might  accompany  or  follow  your  meat,  or 
sandwiches,  by  a  tray  with  two  oval  dishes,  one*  having  sliced 
cheese,  the  other  sliced  pickles.  Have  plenty  of  everything,  have  it 
delicately  served,  and  set  an  example  of  eating  as  heartily  as  may  be 
needful  after  your  out-of-door  exercise.  Now  have  your  dessert  of 
a  handsome  dish  of  jelly  tarts.  Let  the  paste  be  puffy  and  white, 
and  the  jelly  of  two  or  three  kinds,  as  grape,  currant,  or  apple,  to 
afford  a  choice.  Conclude  with  a  plate  of  cake,  or  a  basket  of  fresh 
doughnuts.  Your  luncheon  finished,  spend  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  or  an  hour,  in  chat,  puns,  riddles,  jokes,  tales.  Then  wrap  up, 
be  off,  and  finish  your  entertainment  with  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two 
hours  on  the  ice." 

"Some  of  us  cannot  get  the  sleighs,  or  are  where  the  cold  weather 


198  PRACTICAL  LIFE, 

brings  little  ice  or  snow,  or  we  are  too  far  from  a  skating  place,"  said 
Harriet.  "  Would  you  tell  us  how  to  have  a  pleasant  evening  in- 
doors, but  not  of  the  stereotyped  fashion?" 

"  You  can  have  a  literary  party,  a  tableaux  party,  or  a  shadow 
party.  For  these  the  variety  and  method  of  refreshments  will  be  the 
same,  and  we  can  discuss  them,  as  is  common,  after  the  party." 

"A  literary  party:  how  is  that?  "  said  John  Frederick. 

"  You  can  arrange  among  your  friends  that  certain  ones  shall  sing 
or  play  for  you ;  some  other  one  will  be  engaged  to  be  ready  with  a 
recitation ;  another  with  a  reading ;  and  another  with  three  curious 
questions.  Let  the  evening  begin  with  music,  for  this  will  relieve 
embarrassment  and  '  break  the  ice '  of  the  occasion." 

"  Suppose  we  have  no  organ  or  piano  ?  "  said  George. 

"  Possibly  you  can  borrow  an  organ  for  the  time  of  some  relative, 
or  some  one  of  your  friends  may  have  a  .flute  or  a  violin  to  bring. 
One  of  the  pleasantest  musical  evenings  I  ever  spent  was  at  a  place 
where  there  was  no  instrument  provided.  '  Cousin  Nelly  is  kind 
enough  to  sing  for  us,'  said  the  lady  of  the  house.  A  very  modest, 
pleasing  girl  rose,  stepped  behind  a  chair,  laid  her  hands  lightly  on 
the  back  of  the  chair,  looked  with  simple,  friendly  eyes  about  the 
room,  and  began  a  ballad.  She  forgot  herself  at  once  in  her  sing- 
ing; her  voice,  natural,  clear,  and  sweet,  gathered  volume  and  expres- 
sion as  she  went  on.  She  sang  as  a  bird  sings,  artlessly — as  she 
would  have  sung  alone  out  of  doors,  with  freedom  and  joy.  Her 
voice  rose  note  by  note,  as  climbing  a  golden  ladder  toward  the  sky, 
and  the  tones  came  back  dropping,  dropping,  one  by  one,  like  the 
musical  fall  and  plash  of  summer  rain.  One  must  be  better  for  hear- 
ing such  singing.  After  two  or  three  ballads,  there  were  choruses, 
quartettes  and  duets.  The  young  people  found  that  they  could  sing 
together  if  they  would." 

"You  mentioned  curious  questions,"  said  Robert;  "suggest  one  or 
two,  that  we  may  understand  what  you  mean." 

"  For  instance :  Which  is  better,  to  be  born  great,  to  become  great, 
or  to  have  greatness  thrust  upon  you  ?  Which  is  the  happiest  period 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  199 

of  life,  childhood,  youth,  maturity,  age  ?  Do  events  make  men,  or 
do  men  make  events  ?  Discuss  these  from  historic  examples,  or 
from  facts  that  you  have  seen ;  illustrate  from  poems,  or  works  of 
any  kind  that  you  have  read." 

"  We  never  could  do  it!"  cried  Violet. 

"  Once  get  started,  and  you  could  do  it  very  well.  You  would 
all  develope  pronounced  opinions,  and  valiantly  sustain  them  with 
reasons." 

"  I  think  it  is  beyond  us ;  literary,  learned  people  might,  but  not 
young  folks,"  said  Laura. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  something.  A  popular  English  writer  describes 
a  party  of  the  most  literary  English  people,  met  at  dinner,  resolved 
to  discuss  great  questions.  What  is.  the  aim  of  life  ?  says  one.  There 
are  various  opinions — " 

"  So  there  might  be,"  cried  Catherine,  "  but — the  true  aim  is  to  do 
good." 

"  Many  would  say  it  was  pleasure — to  have  a  good  time,"  said 
Henry. 

"  It  is  ambition  with  some,  if  we  judge  by  their  acts,"  exclaimed 
Samuel. 

"  Oh,  ho!  I  thought  you  could  not  discuss  these  great  things;  but 
see !  start  you,  and  you  are  off  like  hounds  after  a  fox ! "  laughed 
the  Stranger. 

"  But  what  did  these  wise  English  folks  say?"  asked  Dora. 

"  They  concluded  that  the  aim  of  life  was — progress ;  and  some 
one  asked,  What  was  progress  ?  and  they  could  not  tell.  Finally, 
one  dogmatically  stated,  that  '  Progress  was  advancement  capable 
of  being  measured  by  statistics.'  " 

The  young  people  of  the  Bureau  looked  blank. 

"  Progress — advancement?"  said  John  Frederick;  "why,  advance- 
ment is  progress" 

"  How  can  we  measure  a  thing,  such  as  advancement,  by  statistics, 
unless  we  know  what  advancement  is?"  asked  Peter,  the  wise.  "We 
might  include  that  which  was  really  a  retrogression,  and  our  statistics 
would  be  incorrect." 


200  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  You  shall  go  in  the  Census  Bureau,  when  we  have  one,  Peter," 
said  Thomas. 

"  Look  you,  my  friends,  here  are  your  vigorous  young  brains, 
and  your  honest  souls,  reasoning  out  this  matter  better  than  these 
sample  English  wits.  I  merely  wanted  you  to  see  what  you  could 
think  of  and  reason  on,  if  you  tried;  and  how  well  you  might  spend 
your  social  hours,  if  you  would." 

"  But  what  is  progress  ?"  said  Samuel,  earnestly. 

"  Progress,  my  dear  children,"  said  the  Stranger,  with  solemnity, 
"  is  the  motion  of  our  being  toward  God,  its  original  source,  and 
final  end." 

"I  believe  we  ow/</ meet  together  and  talk,  like  sensible  creatures," 
said  Violet,  thoughtfully. 

"You  mentioned  a  tableaux  party,"  said  Catherine;  "is  not  that 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  ?  " 

"Not  so  much,  if  order  is  observed,  and  careful  judgment;  it  is 
order  that  lightens  all  labor.  And,  as  a  lesson  in  order,  in  reasoning, 
in  careful  judgment  of  needs,  I  think  a  tableaux  party  very  educative. 
It  also  instructs  taste,  and  tends  to  historic  research  and  literary  inves- 
tigation. Don't  try  to  have  tableaux  unless  you  will  make  them 
artistic.  I  saw  a  tableau  once  called 'The  Queen  of  the  Fairies.' 
In  a  straight  row  on  the  stage  stood  the  three  persons,  the  queen  and 
a  handmaid  on  either  side.  Her  royalty  was  some  thirty  years  old ; 
had  her  hair  streaming  straight  down  her  back ;  wore  a  flounced, 
pink  paper  cambric  skirt,  and  a  red  velveteen  basque ;  a  crown  of 
evergreen  was  on  her  head ;  and  she  held  stiffly  straight  up  in  her 
red  hand  a  pine  stick  twisted  with  evergreen.  Her  dress  was  short 
enough  in  front  to  show  her  feet — in  a  No.  6  shoe.  To  further  set 
off  this  exquisite  picture,  another  damsel,  with  a  very  tolerable 
voice,  sang,  '  Come  daunce  with  me,'  the  invitation  being  to  trip  it  by 
moonlight  on  the  seashore ;  but  the  maiden  who  implored  the  hearer 
to  '  Come  daunce  with  me,'  was  dark,  coarse-  featured,  short,  and 
weighed  some  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  Now  there  is  a  fitness  in 
things  that  must  be  remembered  ! " 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  201 

"  We  certainly  cannot  ask  you  to  tell  us  how  to  arrange  all  the 
tableaux  that  we  may  wish  to  exhibit,  but  you  can  give  us  some 
general  directions,"  said  Laura. 

"  The  first  thing  that  I  would  say  is,  that  a  succession  of  tableaux 
illustrating  the  same  theme  is  usually  more  pleasing  than  a  heter- 
ogeneous collection.  Jean  Ingelow's  '  Songs  of  Seven,'  Longfellow's 
4  Evangeline,'  and  'The  Hanging  of  the  Crane,'  Shakespeare's  'Seven 
Ages,'  Tennyson's  '  Dream  of  Fair  Women  '  and  '  Maud,'  and  a  set 
of  pictures  from  the  'Arabian  Nights,'  are  all  pleasing.  I  have  seen 
'  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,'  also,  pleasingly  illustrated.  Have  between 
the  scenes  music  suited  to  the  scene.  For  instance,  in  '  Songs  of  Seven,' 
you  want  '  The  Wedding  March  '  played  before  '  Seven  Times  Six; ' 
and  in  '  The  Hanging  of  the  Crane'  you  will  have  the  second  scene 
preceded  by  '  Home,  Sweet  Home,'  with  variations.  The  scenes 
should  be  shown  long  enough  to  be  clearly  seen — say  two  minutes 
and  a  half;  should  be  distinctly  announced  by  some  one  who  has 
no  other  charge,  and  should  be  introduced  by  reading  descriptive 
of  the  picture,  and  taken  from  the  poem  or  book  illustrated.  Thus, 
as  soon  as  the  curtain  falls,  let  there  be  one  minute's  pause  to  give 
the  audience  time  for  the  rustle  and  murmur  of  comment.  Then 
music  appropriate  to  the  next  scene;  then  announcement  of  the  scene; 
then  the  reading  by  a  clear-voiced  reader ;  don't  read  too  long  a 
section — enough,  and  no  more.  Then  re-announce  the  scene,  and  up 
with  the  curtain.  Do  not  have  long  delays  and  get  your  audience 
in  a 'cross  state" 

"  The  trouble  is,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  it  takes  so  long  to  arrange 
the  scene — that  is  the  woi^t  of  tableaux." 

"  Observe  these  rules.  Have  a  skilful  scene-shifter,  who,  with  one 
helper,  will  arrange  every  scene.  This  functionary  must  have  ar- 
ranged the  scenes  all  through  once,  for  practice,  and  must  have  a 
card  with  the  articles  needed  in  each  scene  fairly  set  down.  The 
curtain-drawer  can  be  the  scene-shifter's  aid.  The  actors  in  the 
tableaux  must  have  nothing  to  dp  but  dress ;  and  let  them  have  a 
place  to  dress  in,  and  all  their  garb  sorted  out  beforehand.  Do  not 


202  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

have  the  same  persons  in  successive  scenes  if  there  is  much  change 
to  be  made  in  dress.  Have  your  curtain  strongly  and  smoothly 
hung,  so  that  it  will  roll  up,  or  draw  aside  easily;  and  it  is  well  to 
have  flags  or  fancy  drapery  looped  above  and  at  the  sides,  to  conceal 
the  cords,  the  curtain-drawers  and  any  machinery.  Cover  your 
stage  with  a  green  or  brown  carpet,  which  will  serve  for  out-of-door 
or  in-doors  scenes.  If  you  need  trees,  get  some  evergreens,  cut  them 
off  near  the  root,  fasten  them  in  boxes,  weight  the  boxes  so  that  they 
will  not  topple  over,  set  them  on  casters,  if  you  can,  paint  the  boxes 
green,  or  cover  them  with  green  paper  or  muslin,  and  have  some 
vines  or  moss,  or  little  branches  to  droop  about  them.  Do  not  have 
too  much  stage  decoration ;  adornment  that  delays  your  scenes  and 
hinders  the  effect  of  your  actors  is  adornment  worse  than  thrown 
away." 

"  I  think  our  chief  trouble  is  that  we  do  not  organize  for  our 
tableaux;  we  have  too  many  to  shift  scenes,  and  it  is  not  quite  un- 
derstood who  shall  read,  draw  curtains,  announce,  or  so  on,"  said 
George. 

"  I  want  to  give  you  a  piece  of  advice,  nay,  rather  a  positive  pro- 
hibition. Never  dress  up  girls  as  young  men,  nor  men  as  women. 
It  is  indecent,  disgusting,  unchristian,  for  the  Scripture  expressly  for- 
bids it  in  Deut.  xxii.  5.  I  have  seen,  in  the  showing  off  of  Mrs. 
Jarley's  wax  works,  a  young  man  dressed  up  as  Mrs.  Jarley.  Never 
degrade  your  pleasures  in  this  way." 

"  But,"  said  Peter,  "  there  needs  a  deal  of  talking  in  Mrs.  Jarley's 
part,  and  often  the  girls  are  too  bashful,  or  are  unused  to  speaking, 
or  do  not  speak  loudly  enough." 

"  Then,  instead  of  Mrs.  Jarley,  have  Artemas  Ward  show  off  the 
wax  works,  or  give  them  up  altogether.  Do  not  amuse  yourselves 
by  doing  what  is  distinctly  declared  to  make  you  an  abomination  to 
the  Lord  your  God." 

"  I  think  that  now  we  can  have  tableaux  parties  with  very  little 
trouble;  but  how  about  lights?"  said  Dora. 

"  On  the  organ  or  piano  have  one  good  lamp ;  on  a  stand  by  the 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  203 

reader  another.  These  must  be  the  only  lights  in  the  room  where 
the  guests  are;  and  as  soon  as  the  curtain  falls,  the  reader  and 
pianist  will  turn  them  up,  and  when  the  second  announcement  is 
given  they  will  turn  them  down.  On  the  stage  have  one  good  re- 
flector wall  lamp,  where  it  is  hidden,  by  the  curtain,  from  the  spec- 
tators, and  by  this  the  scene-shifter  can  work,  and  as  he  gives  the 
sign  to  draw  the  curtain,  he  will  turn  this  lamp  down.  Tableaux 
look  finely,  shown  off  by  colored  lights ;  but  in  any  ordinary  sized 
room,  where  windows  cannot  be  freely  opened,  there  is  a  disastrous 
smell  and  smoke  from  these.  Accidents  are  also  likely  to  occur. 
The  mixture  fails  to  burn  just  as  the  curtain  rises,  and  the  dim 
tableau  peers  through  twilight  gloom ;  or,  by  some  untoward  move- 
ment, the  mixture  '  goes  off'  before  its  time,  and  makes  every  one 
laugh,  or  too  much  of  sulphur  gets  dropped  on  the  coals,  and  the 
strangling,  coughing, .weeping  audience  flies  from  the  intolerable 
stench,  and  the  evening  is  spoiled.  I  do  not  advise  private  parties  or 
embryo  chemists  to  deal  in  these  colored  lights.  A  calcium  light  is 
good  if  you  can  find  any  one  to  manage  it ;  but  the  best  thing  is  to 
borrow  or  hire  an  engine  head  light.  Set  this  on  a  stand  at  a  proper 
angle  to  light  the  stage;  have  a  judicious  person  to  attend  it.  Have 
a  double  woollen  tablecloth  to  throw  over  the  front  glass.  As  the 
curtain  is  signalled  to  rise  by  a  bell  tap  on  the  stage,  the  light-tender 
turns  up  his  light  full  blaze  and  jerks  off  the  cover  from  the  front. 
As  the  bell  taps  to  shut  off  the  scene,  on  goes  the  cover  again,  and 
down  the  light  is  turned.  This  locomotive  head  light  will  pour  on 
the  stage  a  full  blaze  o£  clear  light,  favorable  to  any  color  or  face. 
The  only  other  device  for  illuminating  would  be  to  put  in  a  small 
pan  enough  alcohol  to  flame  brilliantly  for  two  minutes ;  set  this  pan 
in  a  large  one,  and  light  the  alcohol  dexterously  when  it  is  time, 
and  let  it  burn  itself  out." 

"  You  mentioned  a  shadow  party,"  said  Violet. 

"  This  is  easy  and  more  amusing  than  tableaux.  You  will  want 
the  stage,  the  dark  room,  the  music,  the  reading ;  but,  instead  of  a 
curtain,  fasten  tightly  across  the  stage,  and  reaching  to  the  ceiling,  a 


204  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

large  sheet.  If  you  need  two  sheets,  join  them  neatly  by  overhand- 
ing.  Behind  the  sheet  have  plenty  of  light  from  wall  lamps.  Your 
scenes  need  to  be  of  a  comic  order,  or  burlesque — the  burlesque 
history  of  America,  or  'The  Schoolmistress  Eliza  Jane's  Adventures,' 
or  '  Illustrated  Mother  Goose,'  or  '  House  that  Jack  Built/  or 
'Arabian  Nights.'  The  scenes  are  to  be  acted  in  entire  silence  behind 
the  curtain,  and  the  shadows  of  the  actors  fall  clearly,  grotesquely, 
and  strongly  defined  on  the  sheet.  This  is  very  quaint  and  amusing, 
and  needs  but  little  elaborate  dressing." 

"  We  will  try  that  some  time,"  said  Robert. 

"And  now  what  refreshments  can  we  offer?"  said  Laura. 

"  They  may  be  passed  on  trays,  as  your  friends  remain  seated  in 
the  parlor,  or  spread  the  refreshments  on  a  table  in  the  dining-room. 
But,  as  the  main  feature  of  the  evening  is  not  the  eating,  I  should 
suggest  plain  refreshments,  passed  on  trays.  Cake  and  lemonade 
— cake  and  fruit.  In  their  season,  strawberries  or  raspberries,  and 
cream,  with  pound  cake.  Oranges  sliced,  sugared,  and  some  cocoa- 
hut  grated  on  top,  served  in  saucers,  and  a  basket  of  maccaroons  and 
cream  cake  sent  around  with  them,  will  be  ample.  After  all,  I  think 
your  friends  will  most  fancy,  even  in  winter,  sponge  cake,  jelly  cake 
and  ice  cream." 

"Everybody  likes  ice  cream,"  said  Harriet;  "but  in  the  country, 
people  seldom  have  ice  and  freezers,  and  the  ice  cream  is  expensive, 
and  often  cannot  be  bought  at  any  price,  in  small  villages." 

"  I  will  tell  you  how  to  make  ice  crearn  in  winter,  without  ice 
or  freezer,  or  a  cream  that  is  even  more  delicate,  which  is,  snow 
cream." 

"  Oh,  let  us  hear  about  that,"  cried  Dora. 

"Snow  cream  can  be  made  only  when  there  is  a  fall  of  light  snow, 
unmixed  with  sleet.  Take  a  quart  of  good  cream,  whip  it  well ;  add 
the  whites  of  three  eggs  whipped  to  a  froth,  a  pound  and  a-half  of 
white  sugar,  and  some  flavoring.  If  you  flavor  with  jelly  beaten  in 
the  egg,  your  snow  cream  will  be  pink.  If  you  wish  to  add  richness, 
whip  up  the  yolk  of  one  egg,  and  beat  it  with  the  other  ingredients. 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  205 

All  these  good  things  being  well  stirred  together  in  a  large  pan  or 
tureen,  wrap  yourself  up,  take  a  strong  egg-beater  or  paddle,  go 
out  of  doors  and  begin  to  beat  in  light  fresh  snow;  when  you 
have  enough  in,  your  dish  will  be  full  of  a  most  delicate  ice 
cream.  These  amounts  of  cream  and  egg  make  a  large  quantity 
when  finished.  Lay  over  this  a  fine  cloth,  sink  the  dish  in  the 
snow,  cover  it  with  snow,  and  leave  until  you  use  it.  You  should 
not  make  it  more  than  two  hours  before  you  want  it*— and  half 
an  hour  will  be  better." 

"  In  places  where  sugar  maples  grow,"  said  Samuel,  "  the  young 
folks  have  delightful  parties  in  the  woods  at  the  maple-boiling  camp, 
and  'sugar  off'  on  the  snow;  that  is,  they  spread  the  boiled  syrup 
on  the  surface  of  the  snow,  and  it  cools  in  clear  candy.  The  fire- 
light, the  evergreens,  the  snow  on  the  ground,  and  the  quaint  supper 
prepared  by  the  huge  bonfire,  make  a  very  merry  and  picturesque 
entertainment." 

"  When  the  time  has  come  for  you  to  enter  into  society,"  said  their 
friend,  "  you  will  soon  find  yourself  in  many  new  scenes.  Evening 
parties,  concerts,  rides,  lectures,  weddings — and  ajl  have  some  cer- 
tain etiquette  of  their  own.  But  etiquette  should  really  be  good 
manners ;  if  beyond  good  manners,  it  enters  into  affectations — it  be- 
comes, as  a  witty  Frenchman  remarks,  '  Etiquette  is  nothing  else 
than  falsehood  in  a  chronic  state.'  Seek,  therefore,  not  fictitious 
refinements  of  social  rules,  but  cultivate  self-forgetting  complaisance 
for  others,  a  quick  eye  and  a  ready  hand.  Do  not  go  into  society 
anxious  to  display  yourself,  but  equally  avoid  a  bashful  shrinking 
from  observation,  a  desire  to  hide  yourself,  and  a  fear  of  hearing  your 
own  voice.  We  owe  conversation  and  courtesy  to  those  whom  we 
meet  in  society.  If  you  underestimate  yourself,  and  permit  a  con- 
stant self-dissatisfaction,  you  will  be  equally  dissatisfied  with  every 
one  around  you.  We  owe  justice  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  justice  to 
other  people." 

"There  is  one  thing  I  especially  hate,"  said  John  Frederick,  "and 
that  is  what  is  called  censoriousness;  this  fault-finding  gossip,  that, 


J06  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

as  soon  as  a  person  is  seen  or  commended,  must  bring  out  some 
miserable  detraction." 

"  People  often  do  that  to  show  how  superior  they  are,"  said  Peter 
the  acute.  "  They  think  it  a  mark  of  wisdom  to  pick  flaws  in  people." 

"  It  is  quite  the  contrary,"  said  their  friend.  "  It  is  an  old  proverb 
that  'Slander  flings  stones  at  itself;'  and  another  is,  that  '  Slanderers 
are  the  Devil's  bellows.'  Innocence  is  not  suspicious." 

"  You  may  make  up  your  mind,"  said  Robert,  "that  if  you  are  not 
above  saying  an  ugly  thing  of  one,  your  company  will  not  be  above 
repeating  it,  and  the  Arab  proverb  will  prove  true,  that  '  Curses  like 
chickens  come  home  to  roost.'  " 

"  Setting  aside  considerations  of  charity  and  decency,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  there  is  no  greater  folly  than  this  of  villifying  our  ac- 
quaintances, or  casting  up  at  them  every  little  error  we  can  hear  or 
imagine.  He  who  does  this  can  have  no  friends,  and  there  can  be 
no  success  in  life  to  those  without  friends.  The  world  is  very  much 
of  a  mat  d'cocagne,  as  the  French  call  it,  namely,  a  greased  pole 
with  prizes  on  top.  This  pole  can  only  be  climbed  if  neighbors  will 
lend  each  other  their  shoulders;  and  to  get  the  use  of  these,  one  must 
needs  be  friendly.  Whenever  you  go  into  society,  strive  to  secure 
friends." 

"I  wish,"  said  Harriet,  "that  you  would  tell  how  people  could 
entertain  company,  when  their  rooms  are  too  small  for  the  kinds  of 
parties  you  have  mentioned." 

"  Entertain  in  summer,  out  of  doors,  Harriet'." 

"  But  tell  me  how  to  do  it  nicely." 

"You  must  invite  your  company  in  summer,  and  amuse  them 
with  out-of-door  sports.  The  winter  skating  party  can  be  exchanged 
for  a  boating  party ',  if  you  can  get  boats,  and  the  company  can  be 
seated  out  of  doors,  on  your  lawn,  or  under  the  orchard  trees,  or  in 
an  arbor  in  the  garden,  if  you  have  one.  Then  your  refreshments 
can  be  served  there." 

"  But  some  people  are  afraid  of  boating  parties,"  said  Dora. 

"  There  is  no  danger  if  one  gets  wide,  strong  boats,  safety  rather 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  207 

than  speed  being  consulted.  You  remember,  it  is  not  so  much  get- 
ting over  the  water  that  you  want,  as  to  be  on  the  water.  If  young 
people  would  equally  avoid  the  bravado  that  tries  rocking  boats, 
frolicking  and  leaping  about  in  them,  'to  frighten  some  one,'  and  the 
baseless  fear  that  shrieks  and  springs  and  trembles,  where  all  is 
going  well,  these  boating  parties  on  quiet  waters  would  be  pleasant 
and  safe." 

"  We  could  also  have  croquet  parties,  and  archery  parties,  and 
serve  the  refreshments  out  of  doors,"  said  Harriet. 

"  Yes.  One  of  the  pleasantest  adjuncts  of  a  small  house  is  an 
arbor.  Almost  any  ingenious  young  fellow  can  construct  an  arbor 
near  his  home;  the  more  rustic  the  handsomer.  A  strong  frame 
must  be  set  up;  then  make  the  lattice  of  round  small  branches,  if 
possible;  cover  the  roof  with  great  pieces  of  bark,  well  fastened;  put 
seats  and  a  long  narrow  table  inside,  and,  leaving  the  front  almost 
entirely  open,  put  seats  of  various  kinds  near  it.  Then  set  out  vines 
to  drape  it.  Grape  vines  grow  very  rapidly,  and  are  useful  as  well 
as  ornamental.  The  trumpet  creeper,  the  clematis,  the  honeysuckle,, 
all  are  beautiful  draperies  for  an  arbor.  The  wisteria  is  lovely,  but 
slow  of  growth." 

"You  must  wait  long  for  any  of  them,"  said  Peter. 

"  For  the  first  year  or  two  set  out  annual  vines,  as  sweet  pea,  con- 
volvulus and  cypress  vine,  to  run  up  with  the  rest;  you  can  start 
these  in  long  boxes  in  the  house,  and  set  them  out  by  making  a 
trench  in  the  earth  for  your  box,  when  the  weather  is  warm  enough 
for  them.  By  this  time  the  vines  should  be  a  foot  high,  and  then 
they  would  soon  cover  your  arbor  pretty  well.  A  bed  or  two  of 
flowers  near  your  arbor  will  improve  it.  The  English  are  very  fond 
of  garden  parties ;  they  give  garden  breakfasts  at  about  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  evening  parties  in  gardens  lit  by  colored  lan- 
terns. But  here  our  dews  are  so  heavy,  injurious  alike  to  health 
and  clothing,  that  our  out-of-door  parties  should  be  over  before 
sunset." 

"  Riding  parties  in  summer,"  said  Samuel,  "can  be  managed  just 
as  the  sleighing  parties  in  winter." 


208  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Add  'to  these  private  pic-nics.  If  you  want'  to  give  a  party,  and 
your  house  and  furnishings  do  not  afford  you  conveniences  for  it,  it 
is  just  as  easy  to  invite  a  pic-nic;  provide  your  refreshments,  send 
them  to  the  desired  place,  and  entertain  your  friends  rurally.  A 
quick-witted  lady  of  my  acquaintance  had  taken  a  very  small  cottage 
near  the  sea,  when  a  rather  large  delegation  of  the  'dear  five  hun- 
dred '  drove  up  uninvited  to  spend  the  day.  She  had  chairs  set  out 
on  the  beach,  but  cogitated  how  to  arrange  her  dinner.  The  table, 
dining-room  and  table  furniture  were  all  insufficient  to  the  demand. 
Her  eye  fell  on  a  grove  not  far  off  Thither  she  sent  her  provisions, 
tablecloth  and  table  outfit.  '  I  shall  give  you  a  rustic  dinner,'  she 
said  ;  '  it  will  amuse  you  more ;  you  eat  in  the  house  every  day.'  Her 
company  blessed  the  happy  thought,  and  voted  the  affair  an  entire 
success." 

"  It  is  true,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  much  less  and  plainer  table 
outfit  will  do  for  these  out-of-door  entertainments." 

"  Yes ;  small  trays,  which  you  can  adorn  for  yourselves,  baskets 
of  wood,  prettily  painted,  or  of  wicker,  decorated  with  ribbons;  mis- 
cellaneous napery  of  your  own  fancy  work,  many  things  which 
would  not  set  a  table  handsomely,  will  add  much  more  to  the 
ease  and  beauty  of  a  rustic  feast  than  would  fine  china  or  heavy 
silver." 

"After  all,  it  seems  merely  needful  to  meet  your  own  circum- 
stances frankly,  exercise  ingenuity  and  cheerful  hospitality,  and  social 
life  will  be  less  of  a  burden,  and  more  of  a  pleasure,"  said  Dora. 

"  True,  we  must  consider  the  real  object  of  social  life.  This  is  the 
increase  of  mutual  pleasure  and  profit.  It  is  not  a  great  scheme  to 
excite  envy,  jealousy,  criticism,  make  display,  and  provoke  concealed 
hostilities.  I  will  read  you  a  good  word  on  hospitality,  from  R.  VV. 
Emerson  :  '  I  pray  you,  oh,  excellent  wife,  do  not  cumber  yourself 
and  me,  to  get  a  rich  dinner  for  this  man  or  woman,  who  has  alighted 
at  our  gate,  nor  a  bedchamber  made  ready  at  too  great  a  cost. 
These  things  they  can  get  for  a  dollar  at  the  village.  But  let  the 
stranger  see,  if  he  will,  in  your  looks,  in  your  accent,  in  your  be- 


ENTERING  INTO  SOCIETY.  209 

havior,  your  heart  and  earnestness,  what  he  cannot  buy  at  any  price 
in  village  or  city.  Certainly  let  the  board  be  spread,  and  the  bed  be 
dressed  for  the  traveller,  but  let  not  the  emphasis  of  hospitality 
be  in  these  things.  Honor '  to  the  house  where  they  are  simple 
to  the  verge  of  hardship,  so  that  the  intellect  is  awake,  the  soul 
worships  truth  and  love,  honor  and  courtesy  flow  into  deeds.'  " 

14 


CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 

THE  VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION. 

ISS  PILKINS  told  me  to-day,"  said  Robert,  one 
evening  at  the  Bureau,  "  that  she  was  herself  '  a 
walking  encyclopaedia.'  Do  you  believe  it  ?  " 

"  I  don't,"  retorted  Peter,  "  for  true  merit  is 
always  unconscious." 
"  My  father  told  me,"  said  George,  "  that  if  I  did  not  intend  to  go 
through  college,  or  to  be  a  specialist,  then  I  must  devote  myself  to 
securing  general  information,  and  try  to  be  a  walking  encyclopaedia." 
"  It  is  curious  to  notice,"  said  Violet,  "  what  different  views  people 
hold  of  the  amount  of  learning  which  there  is  in  the  world,  and  the 
propriety  of  trying  to  acquire  some  of  it.  Our  miller's  daughter  said 
to  me,  '  What  pop  don't  know  ain't  worth  knowing.'  When  I  was  in 
the  city  I  stopped  to  buy  of  an  old  fruit-seller,  and  she  told  me  '  she 
had  sat  by  that  street  corner  so  long,  that  she  knew  everything ;  she 
said  no  one  could  tell  her  anything." 

"  Well,  our  servant-woman,"  said  Catherine,  laughing,  "  warned  me 
not  to  go  to  school  or  study ;  because  '  nothing  was  so  dangerous 
as  study  ;  she  knew  of  people  who  took  to  spitting  blood,  and  got 
sent  to  lunatic  asylums,  just  from  study."' 

The  Stranger  now  entered,  and  John  Frederick  cried  out  to  him, 
"  What  is  your  opinion  of  general  information,  sir  ?  " 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  valiant  generals  in  the  world,  and  has 
seen  the  most  service,"  replied  he  very  promptly. 

"And  how  is  a  great  stock  of  general  information  serviceable  to 
us  ?  "  asked  Robert. 
(210) 


THE  VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  211 

"It  strengthens  memory;  renders  us  logical;  enables  us  to  be 
useful ;  lessens  self-conceit ;  makes  us  capable  of  self-support. 
Nothing  which  we  can  acquire  has  a  greater  cash  value.  In  setting 
yourself  to  secure  a  great  amount  of  general  information,  remember 
that  there  is  a  deal  of  difference  between  a  dust-hole,  and  Mrs. 
Crisparkle's  cup-board." 

"  Let  us  hear  more  about  that,"  said  Catherine,  her  housewifely 
instincts  all  alert. 

"  These  are  types  of  what  mind  may  be,  filled  with  general  infor- 
mation, according  as  they  are  filled  reasonably  and  systematically 
with  what  we  keep  in  judicious  use  for  ourselves  and  others,  or  are 
merely  packed  with  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  unused  and  unarranged 
facts.  I  knew  once  a  woman,  who  sat  down  to  read  an  encyclopae- 
dia through.  She  read  continuously  without  becoming  wiser." 

"  How  should  she  have  done  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  She  should  have  gone  to  her  encyclopaedia  when  she  wanted 
certain  information,  and  she  should  have  fixed  that  information  in 
her  mind  in  a  useable  condition.  If  she  heard,  or  read,  of  Siam, 
why,  then  she  should  have  searched  out  about  Siam,  its  geographi- 
cal position,  climate,  productions,  government,  manners,  customs. 
Then  as  soon  as  possible  she  should  have  secured  some  readable 
book  on  Siam,  and  she  should  have  talked  over  what  she  learned 
with  any  one  who  would  have  been  interested.  She  should  have 
digested  by  careful  thought  the  knowledge  acquired;  thus  she  would' 
have  had  on  this  subject  knowledge  always  available.  So,  if  coal  was 
the  theme  of  inquiry.  The  way  would  be,  not  to  read  on  through  A, 
B,  C,  straight  to  coal,  and  through  that  to  the  other  Cs  and  Ds,  but, 
when  this  subject  came  up,  study  it,  learn  the  kinds  of  coal,  their 
geologic  history,  their  uses,  discovery  and  so  on,  and  this  would 
lead  up  to  cognate  subjects,  and  here  again  would  be  useful,  fixed, 
valuable  information." 

"But  the  dust-hole  and  the  cup-board,"  said  Catherine,  who  was 
an  admirer  of  Dickens. 

"  The  dust-hole  has  an  accumulation  of  things  that  might  once 


212  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

have  been  good,  but  have  been  reduced  to  worthlessness  by  ill  use 
or  neglect :  other  things  flung  in  and  forgotten,  or  lost  in  the  great 
accumulation — the  dust  itself  nothing  but  clogging  dirt,  whereas, 
mingled  with  moisture  into  clay,  it  might  be  moulded  to  an  exquisite 
design,  or,  as  says  Ruskin  in  his  Ethics  of  the  Dust — 'An  ounce  of 
dust  composed  of  soot,  mixed  with  clay  and  a  little  sand  and  water. 
Leave  it  in  perfect  rest  so  that  the  atoms  gather  like  to  like.'  The 
sand  becomes  an  opal ;  the  soot  a  diamond ;  the  clay  a  sapphire  ; 
the  water,  snow.  '  So  for  an  ounce  of  slime,  we  have  a  sapphire,  an 
opal,  and  a  diamond,  set  in  a  star  of  snow.'  " 

"And  now  for  the  cup-board,"  urged  Catherine. 

"  Dickens  thus  describes  Mrs.  Crisparkle's  cup-board,"  replied  the 
Stranger.  " '  The  upper  slide  being  pulled  down,  showed  deep  shelves 
of  pickle  jars,  jam-pots,  tin  canisters,  spice-boxes,  and  agreeably 
outlandish  vessels  of  blue  and  white,  the  luscious  lodgings  of  pre- 
served tamarinds,  and  ginger.  The  pickles  announced  their  portly 
forms  in  printed  capitals ;  the  jams  in  feminine  caligraphy  declared 
themselves,  raspberry,  gooseberry,  damson,  plum,  peach.  Home- 
made biscuit  waited  at  this  court  of  the  powers,  accompanied  by 
goodly  fragments  of  plum-cake.  Everything  seemed  permeated  by 
sublimated  honey.' " 

"  Well,"  said  Laura,  "  I  see  what  you  mean  :  all  knowledge  is  valu- 
able, just  as  Mrs.  Crisparkle's  'jellies,  meats,  gherkin,  walnut,  onion, 
cabbage,  and  cauliflower;'  and  just  as  the  pots  and  pans,  the  rags 
and  old  shoes,  the  brushes  and  buckets,  and  brooms,  and  crockery, 
and  the  very  dust  itself  of  the  dust-hole — but  the  value  depends  upon 
how  we  acquire,  store,  and  use,  knowledge." 

"  That  is  exactly  what  I  want  to  impress  upon  you,"  said  the 
Stranger.  "  This  acquiring  of  general  information  comes  into  our 
self-education.  We  could  have  discussed  it  as  a  theme  under  that 
topic,  but  it  needs  to  be  treated  by  itself,  to  give  it  room.  Hugh 
Miller  says  in  his  Schools  and  Schoolmates  :  '  I  was  one  of  the  many 
millions  who  need  to  learn,  and  yet  have  no  one  to  teach  them.' 
'  The  books  on  education  that  I  have  read  insisted  much  on  the 


THE  VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  213 

various  methods  of  teaching  others,  but  said  nothing  of  the  best 
mode  of  teaching  one's  self.'  And  then  he  goes  on  to  show  how, 
from  all  that  came  in  his  way,  men  and  things  and  books;  he  could 
and  did,  obtain  information,  and  he  adds  of  his  readers,  that  '  they 
will  find  that  by  far  the  best  schools  that  I  ever  attended  are  schools 
open  to  them  all ;  that  the  best  teachers  I  ever  had,  are,  though 
severe  in  their  discipline,'  always  easy  of  access." 

"  Suppose,"  said  Peter,  "  that  all  of  us  young  men  and  women, 
who  are  not  pursuing  through  all  our  studies  the  lines  of  one  par- 
ticular profession,  should  set  ourselves  to  securing  a  wide  amount 
of  general  information.  I  want  to  know  what  we  will  do  with  it  ? 
An  amount  of  capital  is  of  value  as  we  can  draw  income  from  it.  If 
it  is  known  to  us  merely  by  the  taxes  which  we  pay  on  it,  and  not 
by  any  support  we  may  get  from  it,  it  is — rubbish." 

"  True :  the  dust-hole  theory,"  quoth  Violet. 

"  Of  this  general  information,  and  the  keen  habits  of  observation, 
reasoning  and  practical  application  that  thence  arise,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  Charles  Kingsley  speaks  in  this  fashion  :  '  Men  emigrate, 
divide — the  particles  of  humanity  separate  themselves,  and,  spreading 
far  and  wide,  become  new  centres  of  other  busy  circles  of  life.  So  star- 
dust,  sown  in  celestial  spaces,  scatters  over  the  universe  in  suns  and 
systems.  If  you  thus  divide,  you  will  soon  find  out,  as  a  wise  man 
of  this  generation  has  told  us,  "  that  if  you  have  eyes  and  common- 
sense,  that  the  vegetable  wealth  of  the  world  is  no  more  exhausted 
than  the  mineral."  Exhausted  ?  Not  half  of  it,  I  believe  not  one- 
tenth  of  it,  is  yet  known.  Could  I  show  you  the  wealth  that  I  have 
seen  in  one  single  tropic  island — precious  timbers,  spices,  gums, 
fruits,  enough  to  give  employment  and  wealth  to  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands,  waiting,  for  want  of  being  known  and  worked,  then  you 
may  see  what  a  man  who  emigrates  may  do  by  the  help  of  a  little 
sound  knowledge  of  even  botany  alone.'  Now  here  you  see  the 
practical  application  to  the  settler  in  new  lands,  of  information  on  the 
subject  of  plants.  Knowledge  of  minerals,  of  chemistry,  of  manu- 
factures, all  open  to  him  new  paths  of  prosperity.  The  man  who 


214  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

found  out  that  straw  properly  treated  would  be  good  pasteboard  and 
brown  paper,  and  that  the  common,  troublesome  devil's  weed  was 
as  good  as  high-priced  foreign  jute,  learned  the  value  of  general 
information." 

"  If  we  can  do  so  much  on  a  capital  of  general  information,"  said 
Peter,  "  let  us  be  thankful  that  there  is  no  monopoly,  but  that  it  is 
open  to  all." 

"  Long  pedigree  comes  by  descent,"  said  the  Stranger,  "and  large 
fortune  as  often  by  luck  or  inheritance  as  in  any  other  way,  but  the 
crown  of  knowledge  waits  the  worthy.  Here  we  may  all  be  kings  if 
we  will.  William  Smith,  called  the  father  of  English  geology,  was 
a  farmer's  boy.  He  began  his  acquisitions  in  learning  by  careful 
observation  of  common  things." 

"  How  to  acquire  it?"  demanded  Robert.  "We  can  observe,  as 
did  this  William  Smith,  and  you  have  told  us  how  to  use  the  ency- 
clopaedia, which  is  a  vast  compendium  of  many  people's  knowledge. 
Some  of  us  have  no  encyclopaedia,  and  even  when  we  have,  there 
are  other  sources  of  information  open  to  us.  What  are  they  ?  and 
how  shall  we  use  them?" 

"  Why,  we  are  to  read  a  greal  deal,"  spoke  up  Violet ;  "  nearly  all 
that  we  know  comes  to  us  from  books.  We  may  see  and  think 
out  some  things  for  ourselves,  but  they  get  their  best  shapes  in 
books." 

"  There  is  a  kind  of  literature  more  common  even  than  that  of 
books,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  it  is  that  of  periodicals" 

"  Exactly  what  I  want  to  hear  about,"  cried  Henry,  "  for  the  ideas 
of  people  are  so  conflicting  about  the  use  of  periodicals.  Grand- 
father reads  the  entire  paper,  even  to  the  smallest,  often-read  adver- 
tisement. My  aunt  scorns  anything  not  bound  in  library  calf.  Some 
people  call  it  waste  of  time  to  read  anything  unbound." 

"  We  shall  find  that  a  large  share  of  our  general  information  comes 
to  us  from  these  periodicals,"  replied  the  Stranger.  "  Much  of  our 
best  literature  appears  first  in  the  magazines,  and  then  gets  into 
covers.  That  which  people  are  best  acquainted  with,  and  which 


THE   VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  215 

affords  the  chief  topic  of  their  literary  conversation,  is  that  which 
they  receive  through  the  channel  of  some  popular  magazine.  The 
newspaper  contains  the  news  and  interests  of  the  day,  and  if  one  in 
reading  it  followed  up  its  themes,  and  informed  themselves  thoroughly 
on  its  various  subjects,  they  would  soon  possess  a  rich  stock  of 
general  knowledge." 

"  Consider  how  much  time  it  takes,  though,  to  read  these  papers 
and  magazines ;  it  has  been  calculated  that  we  spend  on  them  more 
than  five  hundred  hours  a  year,  even  when  we  do  not  make  them 
the  chief  part  of  our  reading!"  cried  Robert. 

"  True,  but  it  is  for  the  most  part  time  well  spent.  Why  should 
we  spend  weeks  and  months  over  Macaulay  and  Rawlinson  and" 
Motley,  becoming  wise  in  the  history  of  past  ages  and  other  races, 
and  be  ignorant  of  our  own  times,  and  of  the  needs  and  prospects  of 
our  own  nation?  All  that  we  learn  should  be  learned  to  make  us  use- 
ful in  our  own  day,  for  thus  only  can  we  serve  God  and  our  fellows ; 
but  if  we  know  nothing  of  the  wants  and  ways  of  our  cotemporaries, 
if  we  live  in  the  dreams  of  the  poet,  the  lives  of  long  dead  artists, 
the  vicissitudes  of  ages  buried  time  out  of  mind,  what  living,  active, 
discerning  interest  are  we  likely  to  take  in  the  progress  of  our  own 
times?  Every  day  is  making  history,  and  we  are  not  to  be  sd- 
immersed  in  thoughts  of  great  men  dead,  and  great  deeds  long 
finished,  that  we  cannot  apprehend  the  greatness  of  the  heroes  of 
the  present,  or  feel  thrilled  by  momentous  events  transacted  around 
us." 

"  My  father  says,"  remarked  Thomas,  "  that  people  who  never  read 
the  papers  and  periodicals  of  the  day,  become  ignorant  and  selfish. 
I  have  seen  a  remark  by  President  Porter,  that  'an  article  is  often 
better  than  a  book.'  More  and  more  are  wise  and  good  thoughts 
published  in  these  temporary  forms." 

"  Evidently,  in  acquiring  a  wide  extent  of  information,  we  must 
regard  time-saving,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Now  in  papers  and  maga- 
zines, knowledge  comes  to  us  in  a  compact,  available  form.  Again, 
it  is  to  be  considered  that  where  people  are  shut  out  from  the  use  of 


216  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

large  libraries,  and  have  not  means  to  buy  every  book  that  they 
would  like  to  have,  the  periodical  is  a  wonderful  convenience,  from 
its  cheapness.  For  the  price  of  two  small  books  it  gives  us  the 
amount  of  many  large  ones." 

"  But  tell  us  how  we  are  to  read  these  periodicals  so  that  we 
shall  get  what  is  good  in  them,  and  not  waste  our  time,"  said 
Catherine. 

"  First,  then.  Avoid  being  limited  to  one  periodical. 

"  Second.  Do  not  confine  your  reading  to  periodicals. 

"  Third.  Learn  how  to  skip  judiciously; 

"  Fourth.  Follow  out  trains  of  thought. 

"  Fifth.  Discriminate  among  your  periodicals. 

"  Sixth.  Carefully  consider  their  tone." 

"  I  have  taken  down  on  my  tablets  all  those  points,"  said  Laura ; 
"  but  the  thing  will  be  to  put  them  in  practice.  To  begin  with,  I 
must  understand  them." 

"  Be  careful  not  to  confine  your  reading  to  one  periodical,"  said 
John  Frederick,  "  because  then  your  mind  will  become  warped  and 
one-sided.  You  know  what  the  Mohammedans  say:  'There  is  no 
God  but  Allah,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet.'  This  is  the  style 
of  many  papers  and* magazines.  No  party  in  politics  is  right  but 
their  party,  and  they  are  its  exponent.  Nothing  is  literary  but  their 
own  clique  of  authors,  and  they  express  them.  I  suppose,  if  we 
would  be  sound  in  judgment,  we  must  remember  what  is  written  over 
the  court-house  in  Gouda,  '  Hear  the  other  side.'  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  any  paper  or  magazine  is  likely,  either 
consciously  or  unconsciously,  to  express  only  one  side  in  politics,  or 
one  view  in  science.  Moreover,  the  especial  taste  of  the  editor  and 
his  chosen  friends  runs  through  the  selection  of  writers  and  articles, 
and  if  we  do  not  search  the  columns  of  more  than  one  journal,  in- 
stead of  general  information,  we  get  but  partial  views  of  things." 

"And  how  shall  we  unite  our  reading  of  periodicals  to  that  other 
reading,  in  the  pursuit  of  general  information,  which  you  suggest  in 
the  next  point?" 


VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  217 

"  For  instance,  your  paper  gives  items  regarding  French  politics. 
Ascertain  what  is  the  present  form  of  government  in  France, 
and  how  long  it  has  lasted.  What  preceded  it?  Reason  back- 
ward if  you  choose — before  the  Bonapartes  the  Bourbons;  before 
the  Bourbons  the  House  of  Valois,  and  so  on.  Or,  if  it  suits 
your  style  of  mind  better,  revert  to  the  beginning  at  once,  and 
come  up  through  the  lines  of  the  Merovignian  kings,  the  Carlo- 
vignian,  the  Capetian,  the  line  of  Valois,  and  so  downward.  How 
many  revolutions  in  government  in  France?  trace  them;  understand 
them." 

"That  sounds  beautifully,"  said  Laura;  "but  how  do  it?" 

"  Even  an  ordinary  school  history  of  France  will  give  you  much 
information ;  a  larger  history  will  do  more.  An  encyclopaedia,  in  its 
articles  on  France,  Bonaparte,  Bourbon,  will  afford  you  plenty  of 
information." 

"  But  it  is  so  hard  to  learn  dates  and  kings'  names,  and  so  dry, 
too,"  said  Catherine. 

"  This  is  doing  neither,"  said  their  friend.  "  Dynasties  are  easier 
to  remember,  and  you  can  pin  them  into  your  mind  by  character- 
istics. Thus,  Clovis  was  the  first  Merovignian  king,  but  after  his 
grandson  the  line  became  so  weak  they  were  called  Faineants  or  do- 
nothings ;  and  as  do-nothing  kings  are  not  likely  long  to  reign,  we 
are  not  surprised  to  see  them,  after  short,  feeble  reigns,  at  last  sup- 
planted by  the  house  of  their  chief  servant  and  great  warrior,  Charles 
Jhe  Hammer,  or  Martel.  Connect  things  thus  in  your  mind,  and 
your  French  news  will  mean  more  to  you.  By  uniting  the  reading 
of  your  periodical  with  other  reading,  you  secure  general  informa- 
tion. To  continue  with  this  illustration :  France  breaks  out  into 
revolutions  and  counter-revolutions ;  great  heroism  blazes  and  dies 
away.  Why  is  this  ?  Revolutions  are  not  likely  to  succeed  that 
begin  by  tearing  dead  bodies  of  past  rulers  out  of  their  tombs,  and 
burning  them.  But  why  does  France  thus  unite  the  heroic  and  the 
puerile  ?  Because  a  naturally  noble  race  has  been  chained  by  super- 
stition ;  free  thought  has  been  repressed ;  education  denied,  and  the 


218  PRACTICAL  LIFE, 

best  blood  of  the  country  poured  out  in  the  slaughters  of  the 
Albigenses,  the  massacre  of  the  Huguenots,  and  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes.  What  reason  is  there  to  hope  for  present  stability? 
The  press  is  measurably  free ;  religion  is  free ;  the  country  maintains 
public  schools ;  the  army  has  been  taught  to  read.  The  scholars 
and  heroes  are  not  now  likely  to  be  lost  in  a  crazy  mob,  the  creation 
of  temporal  and  spiritual  despotism.  Why  is  France  so  thrifty?  She 
was  taught  economy  by  famines  and  plagues — read  about  them. 
Why  is  France  so  wealthy  and  industrious  ?  Because  so  many  of 
her  people  are  owners  of  their  homes  and  a  few  acres,  and  home  in- 
dustries have  been  encouraged.  It  is  easy  to  teach  people  to  work 
for  themselves. 

"  In  this  same  way  accompany  the  reading  of  the  periodical  with 
other  reading ;  as,  if  the  Monroe  doctrine  comes  up,  study  that  out. 
Is  Zululand  mentioned?  Investigate  its  geography.  But  here  you 
see  I  have  discussed  to  you  not  only  the  second  point,  but  th.i 
fourth,  that  is,  to  follow  out  trains  of  thought." 

"  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  all  people  in  this  country  may 
not  be  well  informed,"  said  Laura. 

"  Except  the  reason  that  they  do  not  know  how  to  set  about  col- 
lecting information,"  said  Peter. 

"  I  do  wish  you  would  take  up  your  third  point,"  said  Violet — 
"£. e.,  skip.  I  love  'skip'  in  reading,  but  my  mother  is  always  re- 
proaching me  for  it!" 

"  I  said  skip  JUDICIOUSLY,"  remonstrated  the  Stranger. 

"Ah,  that  may  prove  less  consoling,  but  let  us  hear  of  it." 

"  Learn,  then,  to  choose  out  what  is  valuable,  and  skip  the  rest. 
That  will  cut  off  about  half  the  time  often  given  to  periodicals,  and 
leave  just  so  much  more  for  better  intellectual  exercises,  for  this 
following  up  trains  of  thought,  that  I  mentioned.  What  is  the  use 
of  reading  the  marriages  and  deaths  in  cities  where  you  are  unac- 
quainted, advertisements  where  you  do  not  mean  to  purchase,  time- 
tables when  you  do  not  mean  to  travel,  accounts  of  gay  weddings, 
interesting  only  to  the  friends  of  the  contracting  parties,  police  news 


VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  219 

of  strange  places,  tit-bits  of  scandal  about  strange  people,  doggerel 
rhymes  by  nobody,  half  chapters  of  flash  stories,  put  in  for  an  adver- 
tisement ? — all  these  things  will  not  increase  your  stock  of  general 
information.  Especially  this  reading  everything  in  the  paper  is  dan- 
gerous, as  filling  the  mind  with  disconnected  trifles,  and  rendering 
almost  impossible  a  continuous  train  of  thought  and  study.  This  in- 
ability to  pursue  a  subject  is  disgraceful;  and  to  encourage  continuity 
of  thought,  I  press  upon  you  this  following  out  of  sustained  subjects, 
on  which  I  have  dwelt  at  some  length.  Another  class  of  matter 
to  be  skipped  is  discussions  of  possible  events,  controversies  of  what 
may  happen  if  two  or  three  ifs  intervene.  We  can  wait,  and  if 
these  things  do  happen,  then  we  will  read  of  them  and  their 
causes." 

"Again  we  must  remember  that  newspapers  especially  often  discuss 
minor  events,  at  undue  length,  because  they  are  obliged  to  set  up  a 
a  certain  amount  of  print,  and  in  a  dearth  of  news,  will  expand  ac- 
counts of  things  unimportant.  The  relative  perspective  of  events  is 
not  regarded  in  most  papers,  but  we  must  regard  it  in  our  reading. 
We  may  read  the  heading^of  an  assault  and  battery  case;  or  of  a  mur- 
der, but  why  spend  an  hour  reading  all  its  minutiae  ?  During  the 
course  of  a  political  campaign  it  is  not  worth  while  to  read  all  the 
gossip,  the  '  mud-throwing '  and  slander  of  partisan  politics.  We 
should  set  the  great  issues  before  us,  and  study  them — they  will 
become  history,  but  these  ephemeral  things,  that  shall  die  within  a 
few  to-morrows,  are  of  the  things  we  must  judiciously  skip." 

"  I  have  seen  people,"  said  Violet,  "  who  read  their  paper  steadily 
for  an  hour,  and  when  they  lay  it  down,  and  you  ask  them  the  news 
they  say:  *O  nothing;  there  is  no  news  to-day.'  They  cannot  re- 
call one  thing  that  they  have  read." 

"  That  is  because  they  have  been  reading  too  minutely  on  too 
many  small  subjects.  The  French  speak  of  an  embarrassment  of 
riches  ;  there  is  also  intellectual  embarrassment  by  having  too  many 
subjects  before  the  mind  at  once.  Skip  judiciously,  and  you  will 
know  what  is  in  your  paper.  It  is  a  good  exercise,  after  finish- 


220,  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ing  your  reading  of  the  paper,  to  question  yourself  of  what  was  in  it, 
and  see  how  much  real  information  you  have  gained  from  it.  Better 
still,  perhaps,  is  it  to  tell  the  news  to  some  one  else." 

"  I  remember  the  paper  best,"  said  Samuel,  "when  I  read  it  aloud 
to  my  mother.  When  she  is  busy,  I  read  it  to  her  as  she  works,  and 
as  I  have  not  time  and  breath  to  read  the  whole,  I  must  skip  the  un- 
important, and  the  culling  out  of  the  really  valuable  fixes  it  on  my 
mind." 

"Now  for  the  fifth  head,"  said  Laura.  'Discriminate  among 
your  periodicals."' 

"If  you  wish  to  obtain  useful  information  from  the  periodicals 
which  you  read,  you  must  not  merely  'pick  up  those  that  come 
first/  or  subscribe  to  the  cheapest.  You  should  consider  what  is 
likeliest  to  inform  you  of  what  you  need  to  know.  Now  one  does 
not  wish  to  be  ignorant  of  what  is  nearest  to  him ;  he  ought  to  have 
fellow  interests  with  his  neighbors.  It  is  not  sound  sense  for  a  man 
who  lives  in  some  United  States  village  to  take  no  paper  but  the 
London  Times,  where  he  would  get  distorted  items  of  his  own  coun- 
try's news,  filtered  to  him  through  foreign  misconceptions.  Take, 
or  read,  then,  if  possible,  your  local  paper,  that  you  may  know  some- 
thing of  what  lies  at  your  own  door.  But  do  not  fritter  away  time 
over  the  weight  of  Jones'  hog,  or  the  size  of  an  egg,  laid  by  Mrs. 
Peter's  hen — nor  remarks  about  these  village  unknowns  who  are 
*  spending  a  few  days  with  Mrs.  So-and-so.'" 

"That  is  all  there  is  in  them,"  said  Peter. 

"  By  no  means.  Now  I  knew  a  young  man  who,  reading  editorials, 
letters  and  useful  parts  of  his  local  papers,  realized  how  much  hay 
his  district  was  raising  and  selling,  and  the  great  profit  on  this  sale, 
accruing  to  middle-men  in  the  cities.  His  attention  thus  turned  to 
the  hay  question;  he  studied  it,  its  prices,  method  of  sales,  the 
amount  raised  in  his  vicinity,  the  amount  that  might  be  purchased 
in  surrounding  counties — the  method  and  expense  of  pressing  and 
so  on.  This,  which  a  New  York  or  Boston  paper  could  not  have 
set  before  him,  his  own  county  paper  suggested.  He  concluded  to 


THE   VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  221 

become  the  middle-man  himself,  and  set  up  in  the  hay  business. 
By  judiciously  applying  himself  to  this,  he  accumulated  a  fortune. 

"Another  man  discovering,  from  the  complaints  in  his  local  paper, 
the  great  loss  yearly  in  apples,  which  decayed  before  they  could  be 
sold  in  distant  markets,  and  learning  at  what  a  low  price  they  could 
be  had  at  farmers'  doors,  resolved  to  create  a  business  for  himself, 
and  save  the  yearly  loss  to  his  county,  by  providing  a  way  to  use 
these  apples.  He  hired  two  or  three  experienced  women,  some 
girls  and  boys,  sent  out  an  apple-buyer  with  a  wagon,  set  up  a  shed 
with  stoves  and  kettles,  and  went  to  work  to  manufacture,  in  quan- 
tity, apple-jelly,  cider-apple-sauce,  and  apple-butter.  The  large 
cities  at  once  supplied  him  with  a  market  for  good  articles,  that 
would  not  spoil ;  he  made  money  for  himself,  pleased  his  neighbors, 
provided  subsistence  for  families  of  poor  people  about  him — all  by 
a  judicious  use  of  general  information,  in  regard  to  his  own  locality." 

"And  yet,"  said  Robert  after  a  pause,  "  we  need  some  other  paper 
beyond  our  local  one,  if  only  to  show  us  a  market  in  the  outside 
world." 

"Very  true ;  so  add  to  your  local  paper  the  reading  of  some  greater 
journal,  which  belongs  rather  to  the  whole  country  than  to  some 
especial  town  or  city.  These  great  papers  also  give  us  the  general 
news  of  the  world,  and  every  well  informed  man  is,  or  should  be,  an 
intellectual  cosmopolite.  We  to-day  are  so  brought  near  by  the 
telegraph  and  by  steam  navigation  to  distant  lands,  and  news  reaches 
us  so  quickly,  that  we  feel  as  much  interest  in  the  affairs  of  Siam  or 
Egypt  as  our  ancestors  felt  in  those  of  the  adjacent  county.  It  is  to 
be  supposed,  also,  that  you  are  interested  in  the  news  of  the  religious 
world  :  you  want  to  know  of  great  philanthropic  work ;  what  is  your 
own  church  doing  to  improve  the  world  ?  what  are  other  churches 
doing  ?  Take  then,  by  all  means,  a  religious  journal.  By  its  columns 
your  heart  will  be  brought  nearer  to  the  great  heart  of  humanity ; 
your  sympathies  will  be  enlarged ;  your  views  will  widen ;  your 
natures  will  be  softened  and  sweetened  by  knowing  of,  and  being  led 
to  share  in,  good  that  is  done.  And  then,  too,  you  should  try  and 


222  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

read  some  literary  and  scientific  journal.  Here  will  be  presented  to 
you  the  latest  geographical  explorations,  the  freshest  chemical  dis- 
coveries, new  methods  of  using  old  forces  and  materials.  You  will 
learn  what  people  are  talking  about,  and  working  at.  These  pursuits 
of  science  are,  of  all  things,  valuable  to  the  world.  We  laugh  at 
the  old  alchemists  and  their  search  for  the  philosopher's  stone,  but 
how  many  grand  discoveries  came  out  of  their  laboratories  ?  In  a 
pursuit  of  the  unattainable,  they  found  treasures  lying  in  their  way. 
The  ancient  astrologers  gazed  at  the  heavens  to  divine  the  fates  of 
men.  They  failed  in  what  they  sought,  but  learned  instead  the 
wonders  of  the  heavenly  hosts,  and  entered  on  the  lofty  fields  of 
astronomic  knowledge." 

"And  now,"  said  Catherine,  "  we  come  to  your  last  point.  We 
must  carefully  consider  the  tone  of  the  journals  which  we  read." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Stranger:  "no  companion  is  more  disastrous  than 
a  bad  book,  and  if  we  would  not  have  some  known  scoundrel  haunt- 
ing us  every  day,  no  more  should  we  receive  the  regular  visits  of 
some  ill-toned  periodical.  Many  periodicals  are  not  worth  reading 
at  all.  There  are  many  devoted  to  trash,  which  neither  instructs 
nor  decently  amuses.  There  are  others  which  are  openly  time- 
servers,  catering  to  every  whim  or  passion,  right  or  wrong — papers 
without  principles.  Others  are  bitter  and  cynical  in  tone ;  they  know 
no  good,  and  expect  none ;  they  jest  at  the  most  shameless,  pathetic, 
tragic  or  monstrous  things.  Some  periodicals  delight  in  close  details 
of  vice.  Every  murder,  or  scandal,  or  theft,  or  swindle,  must  be 
explained  minutely,  until  their  columns  are  schools  for  crime.  If 
you  read  periodicals  of  a  low  intellectual  tone,  you  weaken  your 
minds  so  that  they  cannot  carry  or  use  general  information ;  if  you 
read  journals  of  low  moral  tone,  you  injure  your  own  character,  so 
that  knowledge  which  you  possess  is  not  likely  to  be  efficient  in 
good  for  yourselves  or  others." 

"You  have  told  us  what  to  skip,"  cried  Violet:  "tell  us  now  what 
not  to  skip." 

"  Don't  skip  the  reviews  and  book  notices.     You  must  know  what 


THE  VALUE  OF  GENERAL   INFORMATION.  223 

books  are  in  the  market,  and  what  are  worth  buying.  Don't  skip 
biographical  notices ;  the  lives  of  men  are  our  most  helpful  books. 
Don't  skip  geographical,  historic  or  soundly  scientific  papers.  Don't 
skip  articles  relating  to  the  resources  of  our  own  country,  our  manu- 
factures, agriculture  or  commerce,  for  by  these  things  you  must  get 
your  bread." 

"And  yet,"  said  Robert,  "you  will  find  people  who  will  tell  you 
that  any,  or  all,  of  these  things  it  is  useless  to  investigate." 

"  In  our  pursuit  of  knowledge,  we  will  often  be  reminded  of  the 
man  and  the  boy  and  the  loaded  donkey.  No  one  they  met  was 
suited  with  their  way  of  proceeding ;  nor  were  any  two  advisers  of 
the  same  mind ;  whether  man,  or  boy,  or  both,  should  ride;  whether 
donkey  should  be  loaded  or  unloaded ;  who  should  carry  the  load, 
or  even  how  they  should  carry  the  donkey,  were  all  matters  of  com- 
plaint, and  of  advisement.  Hammerton  says :  '  There  is  no  study 
which  you  may  pursue,  but  some  one  would  be  found  to  tell  you  that 
you  were  wasting  time,  or  getting  to  yourself  damage.'  There  is  no 
study  that  we  do  not  pursue  but  some  one  will  be  found  to  urge  it 
on  our  attention.  A  man  who  was  working  hard  at  Hebrew  was 
told  that  German  would  be  more  useful  to  him.  He  replied :  '  Ger- 
man !  There  were  never  but  three  Germans  that  wrote  anything 
much,  and  they  were  not  worth  anything!'  'You  may  say  what 
you  please,'  quoth  a  Spaniard,  'about  arriving  at  mathematical  facts ; 
as  for  mathematical  proofs  and  certainties,  I  don't  believe  one  of 
them.'  The  classics  have  been  equally  'cried  up'  and  'cried  down.' 
Sciences  have  been  called  god-like,  and  also  immoral  pursuits.  But 
we  must  remember  that  God  was  well  pleased  with  Solomon  when 
he  asked  for  wisdom,  and  that  wisdom  of  Solomon  included  music, 
poetry,  jurisprudence,  botany,  ethnology,  entymology,  history,  lan- 
guages, astronomy,  architecture,  geography  and  finance,  political 
economy,  commerce  and  metallurgy — his  'understanding  and  large- 
ness of  heart  were  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  seashore.' " 

"And  what  is  the  object  of  all  study?  "  said  Thomas. 

"  Self-culture." 


224  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And  what  is  the  object  of  self-culture  ?  "  urged  Thomas  again. 

"  It  is  to  increase  the  sum  of  human  uprightness  and  happiness. 
'  Let  him  learn,'  saith  Scripture,  '  with  quietness  to  work  and  eat  his 
own  bread.'  It  is  everyone's  duty  to  make* his  living,  and  to  help 
his  neighbors  make  theirs,  in  the  very  best  way  possible.  Once,  a 
man's  duty  was  well  done,  when  he  subdued  a  certain  number  of 
wild  beasts,  and  put  under  plough  a  certain  number  of  acres  of  wild 
land,  and  held  his  house  inviolate  against  his  foes,  training  up  a  family 
of  muscular  children,  to  go  a  little  farther  on  in  the  same  line.  A 
woman's  duty  was  done,  when  she  kept  her  family  in  bread  and 
clothes,  by  the  work  of  her  handmill,  her  needle,  and  her  loom.  But 
now  times  and  demands  have  changed.  The  man's  whole  duty  is 
not  done,  unless  he  have  helped  to  build  a  school,  and  maintain  a 
church ;  unless  his  children  have  been  educated  as  best  they  may  be, 
and  unless  he  has  restrained  his  neighbor  from  vice,  nursed  him  in 
sickness,  and  aided  his  orphans.  The  woman's  work  is  not  done, 
unless  her  daughters  have  learned  in  their  home  to  add  beauty  to 
strength,  and  unless  far  out  beyond  her  home  she  has  sent  some 
rills  of  humanizing  and  Christianizing  influence." 

"And  this  general  information,  which  we  are  to  seek,  is  to  help  us 
in  all  these  things  ?  "  said  Catherine. 

"  Exactly;  it  is  to  make  you  hundred-handed  in  getting  a  living; 
hundred-headed  in  devising  ways  and  means  of  improvement;  hun- 
dred-eyed in  seeing  possibilities.  Take  a  farmer :  he  is  not  merely 
to  know 'how  to  drop  so  many  grains  of  corn  into  a  hill,  and  hoe  it 
so  many  times ;  or  to  feed  hogs  so  many  times  a  day,  and  at  such  a 
date  kill  and  dress  them,  and  send  them  to  market." 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Samuel;  "  he  must  know  about  building  barns, 
or  the  contractors  will  cheat  him ;  and  he  must  know  about  draining 
lands  and  laying  pipes,  and  digging  and  walling  up  wells.  He  must 
know  what  kinds  of  soils  and  exposures  are  good  for  certain  crops, 
and  what  rotation  is  best,  and  what  kinds  of  seed  produce  most. 
He  must  know  how  to  raise  fruit  and  vegetables,  and  how  to  keep 
them  in  good  order  for  market;  and  how  to  mend  his  tools,  and 


VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  225 

to  make  any  handy  little  thing  that  he  wants,  without  running  to  the 
shop  with  it." 

"And  suppose  he  knows  how  to  paint,  so  that  he  need  not  send 
wagons,  carriages  and  sleighs  to  the  shop,  whenever  they  need  doing 
over  ?  and  that  he  can  paint  his  house  when  it  needs  it  ?  " 

"  In  that  case  he  will  save  a  deal  of  money,  and  be  always  in 
better  order." 

"  Then  you  see  here  is  a  certain  degree  of  carpentry,  architecture, 
engineering,  chemistry  and  botany,  which  you  are  requiring  of  your 
farmer,  besides  painting  and  horticulture." 

"  He  needs  know  more  than  that,"  said  Samuel,  "  if  he  means  to 
get  on.  He  must  know  how  to  breed  and  raise  stock  and  poultry, 
and  he  must  calculate  the  likelihoods  of  certain  seasons,  and  watch 
the  markets,  and  not  crowd  in  crops  which  there  is  a  glut  of,  when 
he  might  provide  things  which  are  scarce  and  high-priced." 

"  Then  you  see,  to  be  a  successful  farmer,  he  must  be  a  man  of 
wide  general  information." 

"And  if  the  farmer  at  home  needs  such  wide  extent  of  informa- 
tion," said  John  Frederick,  "  how  much  more  does  the  emigrant 
need !  The  man  who  goes  out  to  occupy  new  lands,  with  all  their 
possibilities  of  new  woods,  metals,  vegetables — he  may  come  upon  an 
entirely  new  industry.  While  at  the  same  time  he  must  depend  on 
his  own  knowledge  of  manufacture  and  all  kind  of  handicrafts,  to 
provide  him  with  any  comforts  or  luxuries  that  he  may  have." 

"  Yes,"  said  Peter,  "  he  will  soon  find  that  he  has  to  blast  rocks 
and  build  walls,  survey  lands  and  arbitrate  in  quarrels.  He  may  be 
a  schoolmaster,  a  sexton  or  a  county  judge  before  he  knows  it,  and 
I  suppose  it  would  be  well  if  he  had  laid  up  a  few  ideas  concerning 
all  these  duties." 

"Are  you  making  fun,  Peter  ?  "  asked  Violet. 

"  He  is  stating  the  truth  of  all  new  countries,"  said  the  Stranger; 
"  and  in  the  strong  tide  setting  toward  new  lands,  which  of  our 
young  men  knows  how  far  on  he  may  be  carried,  to  be  the  centre 
of  fresh  civilizations  ?  " 
15 


226  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  I  think,"  said  Laura,  "  that  what  I  enjoyed  most  in  '  Robinson 
Crusoe'  was  seeing  how  he  turned  his  hand  to  so  many  ingenious 
contrivances,  one  man  doing  the  work  of  many  men." 

"Accurate  observation,  well-trained  memory,  a  good  use  of  those 
fragments  of  time  which  often  we  throw  away  in  yawning,  wishing 
for  something  to  do,  or  for  a  change  of  weather;  the  minutes  worse 
than  wasted  in  foolish  reading  or  ill-natured  gossip,  these  can  be 
used  in  acquiring  that  general  information  that  will  not  only  be  a 
defence  against  helplessness  and  poverty,  but  will  perhaps  be  the 
foundation  of  power  and  wealth.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  capacity 
of  the  human  mind,  in  obtaining  and  holding  knowledge,  and  gen- 
eral facts  will  not  crowd  out  any  particular  studies  which  we  are 
pursuing." 

"  I  was  wondering,"  said  Catherine,  "  if  all  this  conflicted  with 
what  you  have  told  us  about  having  a  definite  plan  in  life,  training 
ourselves  toward  some  especial  object,  and  reading  in  the  line  of  our 
studies." 

"  No,  it  does  not.  When  we  are  bent  on  some  fixed  theme,  then 
we  have  less  time  for  gathering  outside  information,  and  probably 
less  need  of  it;  but  any  subject  that  we  may  be  pursuing  will  reach 
out  and  lay  hold  here  and  there  of  many  others.  Be  like  bees,  that, 
nearf  their  hive  or  far  away,  gather  honey  from  flowers  and  from 
weeds,  turning  to  good  account  whatever  they  may  touch  upon." 

"And  after  all,  whatever  amount  of  information  on  useful  subjects 
we  may  obtain,  I  do  not  see  that  it  will  be  of  great  value,  unless  we 
have  with  it  keenness  of  perception,  and  quickness  of  wit  to  apply 
what  we  know,"  said  Laura.  "  When,  in  Paris,  the  great  obelisk 
was  being  lifted  to  its  place,  and  the  straining  ropes  were  likely  to 
give  way  and  complete  a  failure,  only  one  man  shouted  '  Wet  the 
ropes,'  though  probably  hundreds  really  knew  what  the  effect  of  wet- 
ting the  ropes  would  be;  they  had  not  thought  in  time.  Very  likely 
indications  of  gold  or  silver  in  rock  or  soil  have  been  seen,  without 
being  recognized,  by  many  people  who  really  knew  what  these  signs 
meant,  only  they  did  not  take  notice." 


VALUE  OF  GENERAL  INFORMATION.  227 

"  I  am  glad  you  mentioned  that,  Laura,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  for 
I  wanted  to  say  to  you  that  knowledge  crowded  into  the  mind  and 
kept  there,  with  shut  doors,  was  hurtful  rather  than  helpful.  We 
must  make  a  habit  of  turning  to  practical  account  what  we  know. 
As  undigested,  unused  food,  in  the  system  produces  fever,  so  unused 
knowledge  is  capable  of  creating  that  fever  of  the  mind  that  we  call 
insanity.  The  brain  is  not  likely  to  be  fevered  or  softened  by  health- 
ful, active  currents  of  thought,  but  is  by  a  dead  weight  of  acquisition. 
Ponds  need  an  outlet;  there  must  be  a  current,  or  the  stagnant  waters 
corrupt.  So  brains  need  an  outlet  in  human  activities.  It  is  not  so 
much  what  we  know  as  what  we  apply  to  useful  ends,  that  makes  us 
happy  and  influential  among  men.  A  dollar  kept  in  active  circula- 
tion is  worth  more  than  an  eagle  buried  in  the  ground.  The  dollar 
may  stimulate  industry  and  create  capital  to  a  thousand  times  its  own 
value,  if  it  is  only  kept  moving.  Mind  that." 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 

ON    ACQUIRING    AND   USING    A    LIBRARY. 

{HERE  was  a  hum  of  excitement  in  the  Bureau  one 
evening.  The  young  people  were  comparing  papers. 
The  subject  of  discussion  was  of  John  Frederick's 
proposing,  and  in  expectation  of  it,  the  various  habit- 
ues of  the  Bureau  had  prepared  certain  points  on 
which  to  demand  information. 

John  Frederick  went  to  a  blackboard,  and  chalked  up  his  subject 
"Acquiring  and  using  a  library." 

"I  shall  ask  what  books  are  most  important?  "  said  Laura. 
"And  I,  how  to  get  the  most  books,  for  least  money?"  said  Peter, 
"with  an  eye  to  book  sales  and  second-hand  stores." 

"I  want  to  know  about  the  enemies  of  books,"  said  Violet. 
"And  I,  about  curious  things  in  a  library,"  cried  Samuel. 
"  I  never  did  know  what  4to.  and  8vo.,  and  so  on  meant,"  said 
Harriet,  "  I  shall  try  to  find  out." 

"I  am  glad  of  that,  Harriet,"  remarked  Catherine,  "for  my  ques- 
tion is  about  different  kinds  of  type." 

The  Stranger  now  entered,  and  looking  at  the  blackboard  said, 
"  You  have  a  valuable  subject." 

"  One  that  follows  our  last  discussion  very  well,"  said  Henry,  "  for 
out  of  books  we  get  the  most  of  our  information,  or  get  it  put  in 
best  form." 

"  Books,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  were  of  the  choice  possessions  of 

antiquity,  and  though  now  less  scarce,  are  even  more  highly  esteemed. 

We  live  in  what  is  called  a  'bookish  age.'     Burton  in  his  'Anatomy 

of  Melancholy,'  complains  of  the  wonderful  multiplications  of  books, 

(228) 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND   USING  A  LIBRARY.  22'* 

and  asserts  that  as  they  increased  they  became  less  good  in  quality. 
I  wonder  what  he  would  say  of  the  teeming  presses  of  to-day?  The 
more  books  there  are,  the  easier  to  secure  a  library,  and  the  more  need 
of  discrimination  in  choosing  the  volumes  that  shall  compose  it.  To 
begin  with,  you  should  all  try  to  acquire  a  library.  So  doing,  you 
will  secure  pleasing  companionship  for  lonely  hours,  useful  occupa- 
tion for  leisure.  You  will  throw  over  your  home  an  air  of  refinement 
No  furniture  so  improves  the  appearance  of  a  house  as  do  books." 

"  A  few  days  ago,"  said  Robert,  "  I  made  a  call  and  was  shown 
into  a  very  beautiful  library.  It  was  a  room  of  moderate  size,  lighted 
by  a  bow  window.  The  floor  was  of  wood,  stained  and  varnished,  and 
had  no  carpet.  On  one  side  was  a  fire-place  with  a  rug  and  two 
chairs  before  it.  In  the  bow  window  was  laid  down  another  rug,  and 
on  it  stood  a  writing-table,  with  ink  and  paper  and  pens.  There 
were  some  thousand  books,  arranged  in  cases  against  the  wall.  On 
the  top  of  each  case  there  was  a  bust  of  some  famous  author,  and 
on  the  wall  spaces,  between  the  book-shelves,  were  some  pictures. 
In  one  corner  was  a  tall  white  urn,  with  some  vines.  A  few  chairs, 
one  or  two  more  rugs,  a  pair  of  library  steps,  and  two  large  feather 
dusters  stood  in  a  corner,  made  up  the  furniture  of  the  room,  and 
I  never  saw  a  pleasanter  looking  place.  It  did  not  fill  one  with  de- 
spair, as  a  very  ornate  expensive  library  does,  which  suggests  that  we 
can  never  attain  to  its  splendor.  This  looked  as  if  a  little  taste,  per- 
severance and  economy,  would  secure  a  similar  library  for  any  one." 

"And  what  an  attractive  place,  what  a  refuge  from  temptation, 
what  a  centre  of  family  education  and  happiness,  such  a  library 
would  be  !  "  said  the  Stranger,  "  It  would  be  a  strong  bond  of  home- 
loving." 

"  We  have  started  a  library  at  our  house,"  said  Dora.  "  Mother 
gave  us  a  small  room  off  the  sitting-room,  and  said  if  we  could  make 
the  furniture  we  could  have  the  room.  We  paid  for  having  it  calso- 
mined,  and  our  brothers  stained  and  varnished  the  floor.  The  boys 
made  some  book-shelves,  too;  three  sets  of  graduated  shelves,  hung 
on  cords;  and  we  have  put  all  our  pictures  there.  We  are  going  to 


230  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

make  some  portfolios  and  some  easels,  and  rugs  and  chairs,  and  we 
are  working  a  table-cover  of  green  flannel.  We  feel  quite  literary 
already,  but  our  shelves  are  not  full,  and  part  of  what  is  on  them 
is  poor  stuff." 

"But,"  said  Harriet,  "we  are  saving  up,  and  earning  all  the  money 
we  can  for  books,  and  we  want  to  know  what  we  had  better  buy." 

"  When  you  are  buying  books,"  said  the  Stranger,  "choose  a  book 
that  is  good  of  its  kind.  I  do  not  mean  that  you  are  to  wait  and 
lay  out  your  money — if  you  have  but  a  small  income  for  books — on 
rich  bindings,  bevelled  boards,  full  gilt,  and  so  on.  Supposably, 
you  buy  for  what  is  inside,  not  outside,  and  luxurious  bindings  are 
the  luxuries  of  the  rich.  But,  for  instance,  you  need  a  dictionary. 
Every  library  needs  one.  Now  you  can  have  a  little  school  or  pocket 
dictionary,  greatly  abridged,  in  very  fine  type,  and  lacking  exactly 
what  the  studious  reader  most  wants  to  know.  Such  a  book  will 
cost  you  twenty-five  cents.  Before  long  you  will  find  this  invest- 
ment so  poor,  that  you  look  for  a  better  dictionary,  and  get  one  for 
a  dollar.  Now  you  have  two,  but  you  have  no  illustrations,  no 
curious,  seldom-used  words,  no  examples  of  use,  no  geographical, 
biographical,  or  foreign  names,  and  lack  a  dozen  other  things  which 
make  our  great  unabridged  Websters  or  Worcesters  invaluable. 
By  and  by  you  are  desperate  and  collect  the  needed  sum  and  buy 
your  unabridged.  You  have  two  small  dictionaries  that  you  do  not 
want.  My  advice  is,  that  when  you  are  after  a  standard  book,  you 
should  get  it  in  good  type,  strong  binding  and  in  its  best  shape.  I 
knew  a  person  who,  being  entrusted  with  money  to  buy  books  for  a 
school  library,  proposed  to  take  Macaitlays  Essays,  in  paper  covers 
and  diamond  type — because  they  were  cheap!" 

"  I  consider  that  edition  too  dear,"  said  another  person,  "  because 
it  will  be  money  thrown  away.  Macaiday's  Essays  are  standard  litera- 
ture, and  should  be  bought  for  use  and  for  wear.  A  decent  price 
for  proper  volumes  of  such  literature  will  be  money  economically 
spent ;  but  who  will  find  eyesight  to  lay  out  on  these  in  diamond  type, 
and  how  long  will  their  paper  covers  wear  ?" 

"  Then  you  advise  us  not  to  get  our  books  in  too  fine  type,"  said 
Thomas.  "  I  am  glad  of  that." 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A   LIBRARY.  231 

"Nothing,"  replied  the  Stranger,  "  is  so  costly  as  eyesight.  Your 
books  will  be  read  often  in  the  evening,  often  when  you  are  weary, 
and  your  sight  in  these  circumstances  will  easily  be  tried.  Let  us 
hope,  too,  that  good  books  will  be  read,  and  re-read — the  pleasant 
companions  of  your  advancing  life.  You  will  not  therefore  buy  them 
in  such  blurred,  poor  print,  or  shabby  paper,  that  they  will  soon  be 
destructive  to  your  eyesight  and  too  trying  to  read.  In  securing  a 
library,  be  content  to  increase  it  slowly ;  but  let  every  increase  be 
that  which  is  worth  having,  and  well  printed." 

"And  how  about  binding  ?"  asked  Robert.  "The  paper  covers 
are  so  cheap,  and  we  want  the  book,  and  find  the  cloth  or  calf  too 
dear." 

"  If  the  paper  is  good,  and  the  print  fair-sized  and  clear,  it  often 
pays  to  buy  in  paper  covers.  First :  you  get  more  books  for  your 
money.  Second :  you  get  them  when  you  want  them.  Third  :  you 
can  afterwards  have  them  bound.  In  many  small  towns  book- 
binding is  done  cheaply.  Say  that  you  have  two  or  three  good 
books  in  paper  covers.  They  cost  you  thirty  cents  each ;  in  cloth, 
or  library  calf  backs,  they  would  have  been  cheap  at  a  dollar  and  a 
half  each.  You  have  the  two  or  three  bound  in  one  cover,  marbled 
sides,  leather  back  and  corners,  the  edges  trimmed  and  sprinkled, 
and  the  names  stamped  on  the  back.  The  charge  is  a  dollar.  Your 
volume  is  then  of  cost  one  dollar  and  sixty  or  ninety  cents.  The 
two  or  three  books  would  have  cost  three  dollars,  or  four  dollars 
and  a  half.  Foreign  books,  that  come  bound  to  this  country,  are 
dear  on  account  of  duty ;  but  when  they  come  in  sewed  sheets,  the 
edges  uncut,  and  a  mere  pretence  of  a  paper  binding,  they  are  much 
cheaper.  If  you  want  books  in  French,  German,  Italian  or  Spanish, 
and  write  to  the  foreign  bookstores,  you  may  have  these  cheap  copies — 
type  and  paper  exactly  the  same  as  the  costly  ones  in  covers.  The 
book  costs  you,  say,  a  dollar,  and  you  pay  forty  cents  for  binding ;  and 
if  you  bought  it  bound,  it  would  be  no  better,  and  cost  two  dollars, 
or  two  and  a  half.  Paper  covers  are  often  money  saved  :  they  can 
wait  for  better  binding ;  but  nothing  improves  or  renders  endurable 
a  book  set  up  in  bad  type.  Never  purchase  such." 


232  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Suppose  we  only  want  to  read  it  once  ?  "  said  Violet. 

"  Then  don't  buy  it.  Get  it  from  some  library.  If  you  satisfy  a 
curiosity,  by  one  reading  of  its  indistinct  print,  you  may  find  your 
eyes  paying  for  it  for  years  after — the  hardest  possible  payment. 
We  should  not  make  up  our  library  of  books  that  will  only  bear  one 
reading.  The  object  of  a  library  is  to  collect  books  of  solid  values, 
that  will  be  helpful  and  pleasing  to  ourselves  and  families  for  many 
years." 

"And  in  such  a  library,"  said  Laura,  "what  books  are  most  impor- 
tant ?  What  shall  we  get  first  ?  " 

"  We  nearly  all  of  us  find  our  libraries  begun  by  books  given  to  us 
in  early  youth,  and  of  a  miscellaneous  character.  When  we  begin  to 
collect  for  ourselves,  we  should  make  up  our  minds  to  choose  standard 
books,  each  the  best  of  their  kind.  Our  library  is  to  be  for  use.  Few 
of  us  can  get  all  the  books  we  need  for  use,  and  a  quantity  more  for 
show,  or  to  gratify  some  curious  taste.  Many  books  are  valuable 
from  age  merely  ;  the  subject  may  be  very  trifling,  obsolete,  or  poorly 
discussed,  but  if  the  volume  is  two  hundred  years  old,  it  has  a  cash 
value  as  a  curiosity.  But  if  we  are  gathering  a  library  for  use,  we 
should  not  invest  in  one  single,  mere  curiosity  the  money  that 
would  provide  us  with  a  dozen  really  useful  books.  We  must  leave 
these  antiques  to  the  collectors,  the  rich,  the  old,  and  learned,  who 
can  indulge  expensive  fancies." 

"  Then,  in  purchasing  our  books,  we  must  take  on  various  subjects 
the  most  modern  works,  as  those  contain  the  latest  researches  ? " 
said  John  Frederick. 

"  Yes.  For  instance,  you  must  have  a  work  on  geography ;  you 
will  need  constantly  to  refer  to  it.  If  you  get  that  which  was  best 
authority  forty  years  back,  it  will  be  of  small  use  to  you  to-day.  In 
no  science  has  greater  advance  or  more  change  been  made.  If  you 
depend  on  the  statements  of  your  old  geography,  you  will  believe 
what  is  to-day  absolutely  false.  You  must  have  the  best  modern 
geography,  and  large  atlas ;  and  these  books  should  be  in  the  plainest 
possible  binding.  They  will  be  used  only  on  your  table  for  reference, 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A   LIBRARY.  233 

and  in  ten  years  they  will  be  superseded.  Certain  books  of  reference 
you  must  have  to  assist  your  studies.  Of  these,  I  would  name  an 
unabridged  dictionary,  a  large  atlas,  a  large,  historical  chart,  a  physi- 
cal geography,  by  a  first-class  authority,  a  dictionary  in  each  of  any 
foreign  languages  that  you  read.  These  latter  you  will,  of  course, 
collect,  as  you  learn  such  languages.  Even  if  you  do  not  study  the 
classics,  you  should  have  in  your  library  a  first-rate  classical  dic- 
tionary, as  in  all  your  reading  you  will  come  upon  names  of  places 
and  people  mentioned  in  the  classics,  and  which  have  become  of 
common  fame  among  all  writers,  so  that  they  are  continually  referred 
to  as  of  course  known.  If  you  read  that  a  man's  task  was  like  that 
of  Sisyphus,  or  his  burden  like  that  of  Atlas,  or  his  return  sad- 
dened as  Jason's,  you  ought  to  know  what  these  allusions  mean, 
and  a  good  classical  dictionary  will  give  you  the  information  that 
you  need." 

"  I'm  afraid,"  said  Violet,  laughing,  "  that  when  we  are  reading, 
we  '  skip '  or  forget  these  things  which  we  do  not  understand." 

"Then  you  wrong  yourselves  greatly.  A  person  often  leaves  a 
very  bad  impression  of  himself,  by  the  display  of  a  little  unnecessary 
ignorance.  A  pleasant  lady,  and  I  have  no  doubt  a  nice  lady,  called 
once  where  I  was  visiting,  and  in  a  ten  minutes'  stay  she  stated  that 
she  had  been  to  a  lecture  on  physiology  which  was  very  disagree- 
able to  her,  as  the  '  manikins  smelled  so  badly,  she  was  sure  they 
had  been  kept  too  long'  (supposing  them  real  flesh,  instead  of 
pasteboard).  That  she  had  heard  from  her  brother  just  as  he  was 
sailing  through  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  that  her  cousin  had  sent 
from  Venice  the  picture  of  a  golconda.  Now  as  this  lady's  father 
had  a  library  of  respectable  size,  and  she  herself  had  plenty  of  leisure, 
her  ignorance  was  disgraceful  and  unpardonable." 

"  Shall  we  keep  our  school  books  in  our  libraries  ?"  asked  Laura. 

"  Here  you  must  exercise  discretion.  Such  books  as  a  large 
botany,  history,  physiology,  or  a  good  authority  on  ethics  or  physi- 
cal sciences,  you  should  undoubtedly  keep.  You  should  look  them 
over  occasionally,  in  order  not  to  lose  what  you  know.  But  your 


284  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

primary  books,  the  spellers,  arithmetics,  grammars,  small  histories, 
and  so  on,  you  had  better  give  to  those  who  need  to  use  them,  or 
sell  them  to  those  who  will  buy,  or  exchange  with  the  second-hand 
book  stores." 

"But  do  give  us  a  list  of  some  subjects  on  which  we  must  get 
books  for  our  library,"  persisted  Laura. 

"  You  must  have  some  works,  two  or  three  at  least,  on  your  own 
language,  such  as  Trench  on  Words ;  the  Dean's  English ;  the 
Queen's  English,  and  a  few  others.  You  must  have  works  on  his- 
tory, as  Grote  or  Thirlwall  on  Greece ;  Rawlinson  on  Ancient  Em- 
pires; Josephus;  Burton  on  Scotland;  Froude,  Macaulay,  and 
Greene  on  England ;  Motley  on  the  history  of  Holland ;  Lamartine 
on  France ;  Prescott  on  South  America,  and  Spain,  and  so  on. 
Then  you  should  have  a  work  or  two  on  antiquities  and  archaeology. 
When  you  read  the  history  of  Rome,  you  should  strive  to  under- 
stand Roman  laws,  arms,  manner  of  life,  building,  fighting  and  so 
forth.  Have  also  a  large  encyclopaedia  if  possible.  You  need  some 
popular  works  on  science,  as  Hugh  Miller's  Testimony  of  the  Rocks, 
The  Cruise  of  the  Betsy  and  others  of  his  works.  Kingsley  and 
Ruskin  will  give  you  good  popular  reading  on  scientific  subjects. 
Such  books  as  Addison's  and  Irving's  exquisite  examples  of  English 
are  indispensable.  Get  works,  too,  on  biography,  and  travels." 

"  But  some  of  us  want  books  on  these  subjects  almost  entirely," 
said  Thomas. 

"  Then  gratify  your  taste  if  you  are  a  specialist,  but  do  not  en- 
tirely leave  out  books  treating  on  other  than  your  favorite  sub- 
jects. You  should  know  something  of  the  history  of  the  thirty 
years'  war,  even  if  your  chosen  pursuit  maybe  beetles  or  spiders.  In 
fact,  in  every  library  you  will  see  the  predominating  taste  of  the 
owner,  and  this  is  as  it  should  be." 

"  Let  us  hope  it  is  a  good  taste,"  said  Peter,  drawing  down  the 
corners  of  his  mouth.  "  I  once  had  the  fortune  to  see  a  choice 
library  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  volumes— all  dime  novels!" 

"And,"  said  Dora,  "  I  knew  a  girl,  who  told  me  she  had  read  sev- 
enty-two books  that  one  year — and  they  were  all  novels." 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A  LIBRARY.  235 

"  I'm  afraid  these  two  young  people  would  not  turn  out  well," 
said  the  Stranger. 

"  No,  they  did  not,"  said  Peter,  "one  broke  a  till,  and  went  to  jail; 
and  the  other  eloped  with  a  drunken  sharper." 

"  With  which  miserable  endings  their  unfortunate  choice  of  books 
had  much  to  do.  But  if  any  one  had  shown  them  how  charming 
sense  and  real  information  may  be  in  a  book,  as  for  instance,  the 
voyages  of  Kane,  the  '  Fairy  Tales  of  Science/  'A  Painter's  Camp/ 
by  Hammerton,  I  am  sure  they  would  have  learned  to  like  a 
sounder  kind  of  reading." 

"  There  are  so  many  books  that  we  must  have  in   our  library," 
said  Peter,  "  that  we  must  be  inquiring  how  to  get  the  most  books ' 
for  the  least  money." 

"  I  have  told  you  of  the  way  to  get  unbound  books,  and  also  of  the 
bargains  you  may  secure  at  the  second-hand  stores,  in  large  cities. 
These  stores  have  price-lists,  and  you  can  trade  with  them  even  from 
a  distance;  but  if  you  are  in  the  city,  I  advise  you,  if  your  mind  is 
bent  on  getting  a  library,  to  give  a  day  to  visiting  these  old  book 
stores,  and  selecting  really  good  books  from  their  shelves.  But  try 
and  have  a  little  reserve  of  money  for  book-buying,  and  do  not  be- 
grudge paying  it  out  for  a  really  good  book,  which  you  see  adver- 
tised, or  which  is  brought  to  your  door.  The  money  spent  will  no 
doubt  be  returned  to  you  a  hundred -fold." 

"  I  have  heard  something  about  spring  sales  of  books,"  said  Peter, 
"where  one  can  buy  cheap." 

"  There  is  such  a  sale  yearly  in  New  York,  and  if  you  attend  it 
you  may  get  good  bargains.  Or,  you  can  have  a  list  sent  you  of  the 
books  that  will  be  offered,  and  you  can  mark  off  what  you  want,  with 
the  highest  price  that  you  will  pay,  and  have  some  friend  who  lives 
in  the  city  go  and  buy  for  you." 

"  Well,  when  once  we  have  the  books,  we  shall  want  to  know 
how  to  keep  them,"  said  Violet.  "  Tell  us  something  of  the  enemies 
of  books" 

"The  chief  enemies  of  books,"  said  the  Stranger,  "are  dust,  damp, 


236  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

book-worms  or  moths,  borrowers,  ignorant  people  and  children.  As 
our  books  stand  on  their  shelves,  unless  our  cases  have  glass  doors, 
the  dust  accumulates  on  the  backs  and  edges.  The  remedy  for  this 
is  to  blow  and  carefully  wipe  the  dust  from  every  book  that  we  take 
down,  and  weekly  to  wipe  off  the  backs  with  a  clean  silk  cloth,  and 
then,  drawing  the  books  forward  from  their  places,  dust  the  edges 
with  a  feather  duster.  On  account  of  the  rising  of  dust,  a  library  is 
better  without  a  carpet.  The  varnished  floor  can  be  wiped  with  a 
cloth,  and  the  rugs  carried  out  to  be  shaken,  and  so  little  dust  will 
creep  over  your  treasures.  But  if  there  must  be  a  carpet,  then,  when 
sweeping  is  done,  open  the  windows,  pin  sheets  over  the  cases  to 
shield  the  books,  and  sprinkle  the  carpet  with  moist  tea  leaves." 

"  I  suppose  it  is  damp  that  makes  those  curious  dark  or  yellow 
lines  and  blotches,  that  we  see  in  many  old  books,"  said  Catherine. 

"  Yes,  books  should  never  be  left  in  a  damp  place,  or  exposed  to 
rain  or  dew.  When  for  any  reason  they  are  packed  for  a  long  time, 
they  should  be  protected  by  newspaper,  and  occasional  layers  of 
flannel.  When  you  pack  books,  never  suffer  the  edges  to  rub 
against  each  other,  or  the  side  of  a  box." 

"  Do  tell  us  about  book-worms,"  said  Violet. 

"  This  is  a  small  insect  of  the  moth  tribe,  that  burrows  or  tunnels 
its  way  through  the  covers  and  leaves  of  books.  We  often  find  its 
line  of  travel  in  books  covered  with  leather  or  parchment.  It  some- 
times gnaws  straight  through  a  book  from  side  to  side,  leaving  the 
pages  perforated  as  by  a  tiny  bullet.  At  other  times  it  eats  a  course 
like  that  of  a  silk-worm  on  a  mulberry  leaf.  It  has  been  said  that 
this  insect  has  never  been  seen." 

"  I  especially  want  to  know  about  borrowers  as  book  enemies," 
cried  Thomas.  "  I  have  lost  the  First  Volume  of  Scott's  Peveril  of 
the  Peak,  and  the  Second  Volume  of  Plutarch's  Lives,  and  all  my 
Tennyson,  and  I  do  not  know  what  more.  Besides  my  Old  Red 
Sandstone  came  home  less  one  cover,  and  my  Life  of  Napoleon  had 
five  pages  gone  out  of  the  Army  in  Egypt." 

"  Poor  fellow !  "  cried  Catherine,  "  defend  or  avenge  yourself." 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A  LIBRARY.  237 

"  I  wrote  up  on  the  book-case,  '  No  borrowing/  and  I  have  been 
looking  around  for  six  months  to  see  if  my  lost  books  are  on  any 
dear  friends'  shelves." 

"  We  cannot  always  buy  all  the  books  we  want,"  said  the  Stranger, 
"nor  are  we  always  near  a  library.  But  borrowing  should  only  be 
done  by  true  lovers  of  books,  and  thoroughly  honest  people.  There 
is  less  honesty  shown  about  books  than  about  any  other  species  of 
property.  It  is  often  looked  on  as  a  merely  amiable  mania  to  ap- 
propriate a  choice  book  belonging  to  some  one  else.  At  the  British 
Museum,  and  other  great  libraries,  there  is  an  immense  amount  of 
book  stealing  done,  not  by  people  who  steal  to  sell,  but  by  those  who 
are  after  unpurchasable  treasures  for  their  own  libraries.  Choice 
illuminations  and  autograph  notes,  and  pages  of  rare  matter,  are  cut 
out  and  carried  off,  where  the  book  cannot  be  taken  bodily.  And  many 
neighbors  who  would  not  steal  a  cent,  or  fail  to  return  a  borrowed 
spoon,  will  think  it  no  shame  to  keep  a  borrowed  book  for  months, 
or  years,  or  lose  it,  or  lend  it  again  to  a  stranger,  without  your 
permission.  In  fact,  property  in  books  is  almost  as  unsafe  as  in 
umbrellas !  " 

"  I  do  not  see  why  ignorance  makes  a  person  dangerous  to  our 
book-shelf,  unless  they  confiscate  the  volumes  to  light  the  fires," 
said  Violet. 

"  Love  of  literature  begets  a  respect  for  books,"  said  the  Stranger. 
"  You  can  pretty  well  tell  a  person's  literary  status  from  their 
manner  of  handling  a  book.  Your  reader  and  real  book-lover 
knows  that  the  backs  are  not  made  of  cast  iron,  and  that  places  are 
not  to  be  marked  by  turning  leaves  down.  An  ignorant  person  let 
loose  at  your  library  disports  himself  as  a  bull  in  a  china  shop, 
and  destruction  results.  The  person  unused  to  books  pulls  out  a 
volume,  very  likely  inspects  it,  holding  it  swinging  open  by  one 
corner,  or  with  thumb  and  finger  closely  grasping  the  lower  edge  of 
the  back  binding,  as  the  book  is  opened,  or  doubles  one  cover  back  on 
the  other,  all  equally  destructive  manoeuvres.  The  next  thing  is  a 
crash,  and  there  lies  a  book  on  its  face  with  its  leaves  tossed  and  bent ; 


238  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

then  a  leaf  is  turned  down  to  keep  a  place ;  the  tissue  covering  of  a 
picture  is  rumpled,  and  the  picture  is  examined  by  rubbing  the  fore- 
finger over  it !  You  can  trace  such  a  vandal's  visit  to  your  library 
by  the  disorder  left  behind.  Here  a  duodecimo  stands  among  the 
folios;  there  is  a  book  upside  down,  and  here  one  with  its  edges 
turned  out  where  the  back  should  be,  while  this  is  one  pushed  into 
place  endwise,  instead  of  standing  upright." 

"  I  don't  quite  see  how  you  can  tell  that  a  person  is  little  used  to 
books,  by  observing  their  way  of  looking  at  them,"  said  Samuel. 

"A  reader  of  books  almost  invariably,  when  first  taking  up  a 
volume,  looks  at  the  back  for  the  name.  He  means  to  know  what 
he  is  handling;  then  he  turns  to  the  title-page,  as  he  is  accustomed 
to  know  who  is  his  author,  and  who  his  publisher.  Then  he  goes 
to  the  table  of  contents,  for  long  knowledge  of  books  has  taught 
him  where  he  can  get  the  briefest  and  most  striking  idea  of  their 
thought  and  its  development.  In  the  table  of  contents  he  sees  some 
point  that  especially  interests  him,  and  to  that  he  turns.  Then  he 
looks  at  the  opening  and  closing  pages.  He  has  now  a  pretty  good 
general  idea  of  the  book,  and  can  tell  you  more  about  it  than  some 
people  who  have  read  it.  He  also  knows  if  it  will  pay  him  to  read 
it.  Notice,  too,  that  when  he  holds  the  book,  it  is  with  the  back 
lying  in  his  slightly  curved  left  hand,  his  thumb  supports  one  cover, 
his  fingers  the  other  cover,  his  right  hand  turns  the  pages  deftly, 
and  when  he  is  done  looking  at  it,  he  replaces  it  where  it  came  from, 
and  as  it  should  be  '  right  side  up  with  care.' " 

"  Well  I  know  how  the  contrary  character  handles  a  book,"  said 
Peter;  "  he  either  turns  the  pages  by  wetting  his  fingers,  or  he  takes 
them  between  his  thumb  and  finger,  and  spins  them  over  so  he  can 
barely  see  the  margins.  He  does  not  care  for  author  or  publisher ; 
he  fancies  books  'come,'  not  are  made.  He  looks  at  the  pictures  and 
rubs  each  with  his  fingers.  Then  he  crowds  the  volume  back  into 
any  place  that  will  hold  it." 

"  I  can  easily  see  that  children  should  not  be  allowed  to  play  with 
one's  books,  or  pull  them  down  at  their  pleasure/'  said  Catherine, 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A  LIBRARY.  239 

"  but  I  think  they  should  have  books  of  their  own,  and  be  taught 
how  to  use  them,  and  then  when  they  learn  how  to  manage  them 
properly,  they  should  be  allowed  to  look  at  other  people's  books  as 
a  reward  of  merit." 

"  Thus  you  will  teach  them  to  respect  books,  and  make  them 
book-lovers." 

"  You  used  the  words,  duodecimo,  quarto,  octavo.  I  want  to  know 
just  what  these  express,"  said  Harriet. 

"  These  words,  and  others  of  their  kind,  express  the  size  of  books, 
and  they  are  derived  from  considering  how  many  times  the  ordinary 
sheet  of  book  paper  is  folded  to  produce  the  page  of  the  book  in 
question.  Book  paper  is  twenty-five  by  thirty-eight  inches  standard 
size.  When  you  fold  the  sheet  into  two  leaves,  making  four  pages, 
the  book  is  called  a  folio.  When  it  is  doubled  once  more,  so  that 
there  are  four  leaves  with  eight  pages,  it  is  a  quarto.  A  folio  is 
a  long  book,  a  quarto  is  nearly  square.  When  you  fold  the  paper 
again,  you  get  eight  leaves,  or  sixteen  pages,  and  have  an  octavo. 
Duodecimo  is  the  result  of  folding  into  twelve  leaves.  So  we  have 
i6mo.  and  i8mo.  and  241110.  and  32mo.  all  telling  the  number  of 
foldings  of  the  standard  sheet,  each  fold  reducing  the  size  of  the 
page." 

"  But  we  see  royal  octavo,  and  crown  octavo,  and  so  on,"  said 
Dora. 

"  Those  are  especial  signs,  denoting  particular  sizes  of  paper  of 
which  the  book  is  made." 

"We  sometimes  see  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  a,  b,  c,  or  I,  2,  3, 
or  asterisks,  as  if  a  footnote  had  been  left  out,  what  does  that  mean?" 
asked  Catherine. 

"  It  is  a  signature  mark  to  direct  the  binders  in  folding  the  sheets. 
8vo.  you  know,  means  octavo,  and  4to.  means  quarto,  and  I2mo. 
means  duodecimo." 

"  I  think  now  you  should  tell  us  about  the  sizes  of  type,"  said 
Catherine.  "  If  we  send  away  for  a  book  and  send  for  one  in  Pica,  or 
Brilliant,  or  Bourgcoise  type,  we  don't  know  what  we  are  sending  for." 


240  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"  That  leads  to  trouble,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  I  knew  of  a  young 
man  who  wanted  to  give  his  little  sister  a  Bible  on  her  birthday. 
He  sent  for  a  folio,  in  Great  Primer  type,  having  a  vague  idea  that 
this  would  suit  a  little  girl,  and  he  got  a  huge  family  Bible,  that 
his  sister  could  not  lift.  Another  person,  wanting  a  Bible  for  his 
aged  grandmother,  thought  a  32010.  in  Brilliant  type,  would  be  a 
large  and  handsome  present  for  an  elderly  person,  and  he  got  a  little 
toy  curiosity  Bible,  in  such  tiny  print  that  he  could  not  read  it  him- 
self." 

"  I  might  have  done  just  as  badly  myself,"  said  Catherine,  "  only 
now  I  know  about  books  as  to  size,  that  the  larger' the  number  of 
folds  the  smaller  the  book ;  but  tell  me  about  the  type." 

"The  largest  type  used  in  book  printing  is  Great  Primer, 
sometimes  called  Bible  Type,  because  it  is  used  for  the  Bible, 
and  in  early  times  for  any  considerable  works.  The  Germans  call  it 
Tertla,  and  the  French  GrOS  Romain.  The  different  na- 
tions call  the  same  types  by  different  names,  except  I  3r3ffOfl, 
which  was  first  cast  in  France,  and  everywhere  bears  the  same  name. 
English  is  a  type  next  smaller  than  Great  Primer;  you  must  not 
confound  it  with  Old  English  or  Black  Letter,  which  is  very  differ- 
ent, and  only  occasionally  used  as  an  ornament  or  affectation, 
having  for  many  years  been  entirely  superseded  by  the  Roman 
type.  Pica  is  called  the  standard  type.  The  French  and  Germans 
call  it  Cicero,  because  Cicero's  Epistles  were  first  printed  in  that 
size  letter.  Small  Pica  is  the  type  generally  employed  for  oc- 
tavo volumes,  for  legal  reports  and  law  books.  It  is  three  sizes 
larger  than  Brevier,  which  is  its  German  name.  Long  Primer  is  a 
clear,  conveniently  large  and  popular  type.  The  French  call  it 
Petit  Romain.  Bourgeoise  is  a  type  used  much  for  books  in  double 
columns.  It  was  first  cast  in  France,  and  named  from  the  middle 
class  of  people  there,  who  hold  rank  between  the  aristocracy  and 
the  canaille.  Thus  Bourgeoise  type  is  half  as  large  as  Great  Primer, 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A  LIBRARY.  241 

and  twice  as  large  as  Diamond.  Brevier  is  a  smaller  type  than  Bour- 
geoise,  is  clear  and  handsome,  and  gets  its  name  from  first  having 
been  used  in  Roman  Catholic  church-books  or  Breviaries.  Minion 
is  the  usual  newspaper  type,  and  gets  its  name  from  being  the 
smallest  type  yet  known,  when  it  was  invented.  But  now  there  are 
many  smaller  sizes,  though  the  Minion  is  as  small  as  any  judi- 
cious reader  will  dare  to  use.  It  is  employed  often  for  foot-notes, 
index  work,  and  so  on.  Nonpareil,  Agate,  Peari,  Diamond  and  Brilliant 
follow  in  order  of  their  smallness,  Brilliant  being  invented  probably 
in  the  interests  of  oculists  and  spectacle  venders.  Agate  was  in- 
vented to  help  out  the  newspapers  with  their  market  and  shipping 
news,  while  Diamond,  Pearl  and  Brilliant  were  products  of  emula- 
tion in  striving  to  show  who  could  cut  and  use  the  smallest  type. 
You  must  bear  in  mind  that  all  these  forms  of  type  can  be  made  to 
look  much  larger,  as  they  stand  out  more  clearly  from  the  page,  by 
being  what  is  called  leaded,  either  double  or  single  leading  being 
used.  Thus  Long  Primer  double-leaded  will  look  nearly  as  large  as 
Great  Primer.  There  are  other  kinds  of  type,  as  Canon,  Columbian, 
even  to  the  number  of  some  twenty  varieties  of  plain  Roman 
letters." 

"  What  about  the  covers  of  books  ?"  asked  Thomas. 
"  When  you  are  buying  for  your  library,  get  strong,  dark  covers, 
with  an  eye  to  service.  Fashions  vary  in  book-binding  as  in  dresses ; 
but  if  you  are  trying  to  collect  a  good,  useful  library,  and  your  means 
are  limited,  you  will  consider  that  you  have  little  money  to  lay  out 
in  fancy  bindings  and  light  colors.  White  and  gold  covers  are  pretty 
things  for  gift  books,  and  to  lay  on  parlor  tables,  but  they  will  not 
wear  well  in  a  library,  besides  being  costly.  If  you  are  trying  to 
make  the  best  of  your  book  money,  and  really  want  a  library,  it  is 
better  to  get  Southey,  Tennyson  and  Longfellow,  each  bound  in 
strong,  dark  cloth,  and  well  printed,  than  to  lay  out  the  price  of  the 
three  in  a  copy  of  of  Southey  in  white  vellum,  with  gold  edges  and 
ornaments.  At  the  same  time,  a  beautifully  bound  book  is  a  work 
of  high  art,  and  a  joy — as  long  as  it  lasts." 
16 


242  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Tell  us  something  useful  and  beautiful  that  will  add  to  the 
worth  of  our  library,  and  that  we  can  make  for  ourselves,"  said 
Samuel. 

"  There  are  scrap-books.  You  can  make  them  neatly,  having 
them  of  different  subjects,  and  for  poetry  and  prose.  You  will  save 
in  them  many  useful  and  beautiful  things  that  you  would  lose  if 
you  had  no  such  book  for  them.  A  very  great  addition  to  a  library 
is  a  portfolio  of  pictures.  If  you  buy  poor,  gaudy  pictures,  they  are 
worth  nothing — they  destroy  your  taste ;  but  constantly  beautiful 
pictures  come  into  your  possession,  especially  wood-cuts  from  papers 
and  periodicals ;  often  too  an  engraving  falls  to  you,  that  if  simply 
thrust  into  a  drawer  or  a  book  will  soon  be  lost  or  spoiled.  If  you 
make  these  pictures  perfectly  smooth,  trim  the  edges  and  mount 
them  on  nice  Bristol -board,  leaving  a  proper  margin  of  white  or  gray 
board  around  them,  you  increase  their  beauty  and  durability." 

"And  you  can  make  nice  portfolios  for  these  pictures,"  said 
Catherine ;  "  have  them  larger  than  the  largest  of  your  pictures,  and 
get  an  easel  made  to  hold  the  portfolios,  and  you  can  then  show 
your  pictures  without  taking  them  from  their  places  or  handling 
them.  If  all  the  faces  are  turned  the  same  way,  as  you  open  the 
portfolio,  and  fasten  it  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  you  can  turn 
one  picture  after  the  other  down  upon  the  lower  cover  of  the  port- 
folio, and  when  you  have  examined  all,  they  will  go  back  into  their 
places  just  by  closing  the  covers." 

"  Such  a  portfolio  of  pictures  is  worth  much  more  than  a  gaudy 
French  clock,  or  a  huge  pair  of  China  vases,  in  furnishing  a  room," 
said  the  Stranger ;  "  in  fact,  beauty  of  furnishing  depends  far  more 
on  the  taste  than  on  the  purse." 

"  How  shall  we  use  our  library  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"  We  must  not  make  it  a  Blue  Beard's  closet,  where  we  put  to 
death  domestic  affections  and  home  comfort;  neither  the  shell, 
wherein  we  play  Mr.  Snail.  As  far  as  our  home  is  concerned,  all 
its  members  should  feel  that  the  library  is  a  place  for  pleasant  gather- 
ings, and  a  centre  of  good  influences,  while  the  possession  of  so  de- 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND   USING  A  LIBRARY.  243 

lightful  a  retreat  should  not  cause  us  to  shut  ourselves  from  a  proper 
enjoyment  of  society." 

"  When  one  is  busy  all  day  in  farming,  or  a  trade,  or  a  profession, 
there  is  only  the  evening,  or  Sunday,  or  a  holiday,  when  one  can 
make  use  of  their  library,"  said  Samuel. 

"And  we  shall  be  surprised  to  find  how  much  may  be  done  in  read- 
ing and  study  in  these  'corners  of  time,'  if  they  are  systematically 
used.  It  may  be  that  one  person  in  a  family  has  more  time  or  fond- 
ness for  books  than  the  others.  Such  an  one  is  bound  to  bring  out 
of  his  treasures  for  the  benefit  of  the  others  things  new  and  old. 
What  you  read  should  be  produced  when  the  family  are  met  together. 
Suppose  that  you  have  been  reading  the  '  Life  of  Dr.  Kane,'  how  easy 
it  would  be  to  begin  talking  of  him,  and  sketching  some  of  the  chief 
incidents  of  his  life,  choosing  a  variety  that  will  interest  the  various 
members  of  your  family?  Attention  will  be  excited,  questions  asked; 
what  you  have  read  will  be  impressed  on  your  own  mind,  and  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  some,  who  have  been  little  interested  in  books,  will 
be  induced  hereafter  to  read  for  themselves.  At  least,  by  your  efforts, 
they  will  get  some  information  which  they  would  lack,  if  you  sat  in 
moping  silence  at  table  or  around  the  hearth,  or  confined  your  re- 
marks to  complaining  about  your  food,  or  repeating  something  to 
the  disadvantage  of  your  neighbor." 

"  I  never  thought,"  said  Peter,  "  of  trying  to  interest  other  people 
in  what  I  had  been  reading.  I  did  not  know  that  I  could." 

"  Why  not?  If  it  pleases  you,  it  is  likely  to  please  some  one  else, 
for  minds  have  much  in  common.  If  your  reading  has  been  of 
insects,  their  ravages,  enemies,  habits,  by  carefully  bringing  out,  to 
begin  with,  the  most  curious  point  that  you  know,  you  will  arrest  the 
notice  of  those  with  whom  you  converse,  and  so  start  your  theme. 
Possibly,  they  can  tell  you  something  that  your  book  has  omitted. 
Perhaps  you  say  to  some  one  :  '  Did  you  ever  see  a  seventeen-year 
locust?  '  'What  is  that?'  cries  little  sharp-ears ;  '  does  he  live  seven- 
teen years  ? '  '  No,  but  the  eggs  do,  and  it  takes  seventeen  years  for 
the  eggs  to  come  forth  as  young  locusts — as  long  as  for  the  baby  to 


244  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

become  a  man.'  'But  where  do  these  eggs  and  young  exist  during 
all  this  time  ?'  And  then  you  can  tell  what  you  have  read.  Some  one 
else  will  bring  forth  another  theme.  This  one  will  relate  the  ravages 
of  a  swarm,  and  that  one  has  seen  the  locusts  themselves ;  and,  if 
time  permits,  the  conversation  wanders  off  to  other  insects  and  their 
curious  ways.  All  who  have  joined  in  the  talk  will  be  something 
the  richer  in  mind  for  it,  and  more  observing  in  their  habit,  when 
they  find  that  these  common  things,  that  leap  in  the  grass  and  hum 
and  cry  in  the  trees,  have  so  strange  histories  behind  them." 

"  The  great  trouble  with  me,"  said  Henry,  "  would  be  to  get  a 
start.  I  should  not  know  how  to  begin." 

"  I  was  at  a  table  where  a  delightful  hour  was  spent,  because  a  lady 
had  passed  the  morning  in  reading  Tyndall's  'Forms  of  Water'  As 
a  glass  of  water  was  poured  out,  she  said  to  a  young  boy:  '  How 
many  forms  has  water?  '  '  One — as  you  drink  it.'  'Then  you  never 
carved  it  into  a  man,  or  rolled  it  up  in  a  ball  ? '  '  O,  snow  ! '  'Well, 
I've  cut  it  in  blocks  many  a  time,'  said  some  one  else.  'Yes, 
ice.'  '  Then  it  has  three  forms.'  '  O,  but  there  are  rain,  and  dew, 
and  hail.'  '  If  you  come  to  that,  why,  rivers,  pcnds,  seas — '  '  But 
how  does  the  water  become  ice,  snow,  hail  ?  '  '  Whr.t  difference  do 
we  find  between  salt-water  and  fresh  ? '  '  Did  you  ever  hear  that 
Water  was  used  as  nature's  great  chisel  in  carving  the  surface  of  the 
earth  ?  '  '  Suppose  I  tell  you  that  those  boulders  in  your  fields  were 
carried  there  by  ice ;  that  they  fell  out  of  the  thawing  bottom  of  an 
iceberg ;  that  once  all  these  fields  were  under  cold  seas,  and  icebergs 
were  rocking  and  crashing  for  ages  where  now  tree-tops  are.'  On 
such  themes  every  family  can  talk.  They  all  have  seen  something, 
read  something  of  the  work  of  water;  and  those  who  have  read  most 
can  tell  the  most  that  is  wonderful  and  useful." 

"  But,  if  vve  have  not  read  on  water,  to  get  a  start?  " 

"Then  you  have  read  on  something  else.  The  grass  of  the  fields, 
the  wheat,  the  bricks  in  the  wall,  the  stones  in  the  street,  whatever 
you  have  read  of,  turn  to  a  good  use." 

"  I  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  talk  on  book-worms"  said  Violet, 


ON  ACQUIRING  AND    USING  A  LIBRARY.  245 

•*  for  I  have  a  curiosity  about  them,  but  you  have  not  told  me  half 
enough." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  for  the  neglect,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  The 
book-worms  are  probably  the  larvae  of  some  small  beetles.  Those 
discovered,  discussed,  named,  are  ptimis  fur,  by  Linnaeus,  in  Sweden; 
anobium  Bibliothecum,  by  Hoey,  in  Cuba,  and  plain  anobium,  found 
in  books  in  America  and  Germany.  They  will  not  meddle  with 
books  frequently  handled,  dusted,  turned  over;  while  books  that 
have  been  exposed  to  damp  especially  attract  them.  They  seem  to 
feed  on  the  paste  or  glue  used  by  binders,  and  on  the  sizing  of  the 
paper.  Some  French  writers  on  book-worms  describe  a  kind  that 
cackle  like  hens,  arid  eat  the  leather  bindings,  and  the  binder's  paste. 
These  cackling  moths  probably  exist  only  in  the  French  imagination, 
though  they  have  their  prototypes  in  life  in  noisy,  loud  tarlking  fre- 
quenters of  libraries !  It  is  said  that  cayenne  pepper,  or  powdered 
alum,  will  destroy  book  moths." 

"  Thanks,"  said  Violet ;  "  I  feel  quite  wise  on  an  unusual  theme." 

"But  the  books  themselves  need  more  discussion  than  their 
enemies,"  said  George. 

"  But,"  said  the  Stranger,  after  a  pause,  "  in  our  talk  about  buying 
books,  I  have  not  even  hinted  at  half  the  books  which  you  should 
choose.  There  is  nothing  more  refining  to  the  mind  than  the  study 
of  the  poets.  Even  if  you  do  not  love  poetry,  your  library  would 
be  bare,  indeed,  without  Milton  and  Wordsworth,  Dryden,  Coleridge, 
Tennyson,  Longfellow,  Whittier,  and  many  more  sweet  singers ; 
these  would  elevate  your  taste.  Shakespeare  has  been  called  a  com- 
plete library ;  you  are  poor  in  books  if  you  have  not  his  works. 
You  must  also  consider  that  your  library  will  be  a  pleasant  refuge 
to  you  during  many  Sabbath  hours,  and  for  these  you  should  pro- 
vide fit  reading.  The  Bible  is  the  grandest  volume  that  you  can 
possess  or  study,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  its  contents  will  be 
of  infinite  value  to  you.  You  should  secure  for  your  library  books 
that  throw  light  on  the  sacred  pages.  Every  library  should  contain 
a  concordance,  a  Bible  dictionary,  a  volume  of  Biblical  antiquities,  a 


246  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Biblical  geography,  and  a  good  commentary.  Having  these  books, 
you  will,  as  you  hear  of  works  well  written  on  different  portions  of 
Scripture,  or  on  travels  in  Bible  lands,  add  them  to  your  store." 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  your  remark,  that  our  libraries  indicate 
our  tastes,  as  a  thermometer  indicates  temperature,"  said  Peter.  "  I 
know  facts  that  prove  you  right.  One  of  my  aunts  is  a  great  Bible 
student,  and  her  library,  of  six  hundred  volumes,  has  hardly  a  book 
that  does  not  relate  to  Bible  study.  A  friend  of  my  father  has  two 
thirds  of  his  books  on  natural  science.  Books  are  our  best  company. 
You  remember,  the  poet  says  : 

" '  Books  are  yours, 

Within  whose  silent  chambers  treasure  lies 
Preserved  from  age  to  age ;  more  precious  far, 
Than  that  accumulated  store  of  gold, 
And  Orient  gems,  which  for  a  day  of  need 
The  Sultan  hides,  deep  in  ancestral  tombs: 
These  hoards  of  truth  you  can  unlock  at  will.'  " 


CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 

ON   FLIRTATIONS   AND    LOVE-MAKING. 

iT  was  a  brilliant  spring  day,  and  the  young  people  had 
gathered  at  the  Bureau.  They  were  full  of  that  new 
life  and  pleasant  excitement  that  comes  with  the 
bursting  forth  of  leaf  and  flower,  the  return  of  the 
birds,  and  the  promise  of  summer.  The  world  feels 
the  renewed  pulses  of  youth.  The  voice  of  the  south  wind  has 
whispered  to  the  land,  "Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead  : "  God  is  recreating  the  world.  Why  should  we  cavil  at  the 
miracles  of  water  made  wine,  when  from  these  deluging  showers,  and 
these  dry  sticks  over  our  arbor,  we  are  confidently  looking  for 
grapes  ?  This  is  a  season  of  exuberance,  of  joy,  of  promise,  of  large 
planning — it  is  a  season  of  love. 

The  young  people,  as  they  waited  for  the  Stranger,  responded  to 
the  presence  of  the  gentle  season. 

John  Frederick  gazed  admiration  at  Violet,  who  was  making  a 
wreath  of  her  name-flowers.  Samuel  and  Catherine,  seated  on  the 
porch  step,  were  engrossed  with  each  other's  conversation.  Peter 
was  prognosticating  unprecedented  crops,  and  flush  times.  Henry, 
lying  on  the  window  seat,  read  "  St.  Ronan's  Well." 

"  The  day,"  cried  Laura,  "  is  a  day  for  inspiration.  Let  us  have 
something  entirely  new,  original,  and,  until  now,  unheard  of.  Let 
us  have  a  POEM  ON  SPRING  !  " 

"  Here  is  one,"  said  Thomas,  springing  up,  "  one  which  I  com- 
posed this  moment,"  and  he  began : 

(247) 


248  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  In  the  spring  a  fuller  crimson  comes  upon  the  robin's  breast, 
In  the  spring  the  wanton  lapwing  gets  himself  another  crest. 
In  the  spring  a  livelier  iris  changes  on  the  burnished  dove, 
In  the  spring,  a  young  man's  fancy  lightly  turns  to  thoughts  of  love.** 

"  Oh,  fie,  fie,"  cried  Robert,  "  there  is  no  international  copyright, 
but  there  is  literary  honor  !  " 

"  In  the  flush  of  the  moment,"  said  Thomas,  unblushingly,  "  I 
believed  I  was  the  poet  laureate  of  England." 

At  this  moment  the  Stranger  appeared. 

"We  are  effervescing  with  spring-time,"  cried  George,  "we  are 
unable  to  discuss  any  weighty  theme.  But  one  topic  occupies  our 
minds  ;  we  can  hear  of  nothing  but  love  and  flirtations.  At  this 
moment  we  fully  intend  to  make  all  our  reading  novels ;  we  think 
Romeo  and  Juliet  the  only  true  models ;  we  cannot  call  these 
damsels  by  such  plain  names  as  Dora,  Harriet  or  Mary;  they  are  all 
name-children  of  goddesses,  and  we  style  them  Aurora,  Psyche, 
Hebe,  Galataea.  Talk  to  us  then  on  a  subject  which  we  can  com- 
prehend." 

The  Stranger  bent  over  Henry's  shoulder,  and  read  this  passage : 
"  But,  Tyrrel,  when  was  it  otherwise  with  engagements  formed  in 
youth  and  folly  ?  You  and  I,  would  you  know,  become  men  and 
women,  while  we  were  yet  scarcely  more  than  children.  We  have 
run,  while  yet  in  our  nonage,  through  the  passions  and  adventures 
of  youth,  and  therefore  we  are  old  before  our  day,  and  the  winter  of 
our  life  has  come,  ere  the  summer  has  well  begun." 

"  I  don't  like  this  book ;  it  is  too  sad,"  said  Henry,  tossing  the 
volume  from  him. 

"  Has  a  cloud  come  over  the  sun,  or  is  there  a  cold  wind  stealing 
from  a  distant  sea !  "  cried  Thomas ;  "  I  don't  feel  quite  so  fresh  as  I 
did  half  an  hour  ago." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  Violet,  in  a  pretty  dismay,  "  don't  you  believe  in 
love  ?  " 

"There  was  a  certain  benevolence  in  your  countenance  which 
persuaded  me  to  think  that  you  were  sympathetic  with  our  youthful 
follies,"  said  Robert. 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  249 

"  Even  at  the  risk  of  hearing  a  severe  lecture,  we  must  choose 
love  for  our  theme,"  said  John  Frederick,  taking  a  knot  of  Violet's 
flowers,  and  pinning  them  into  his  button-hole.  "  Last  month,  when 
the  sharp  winds  of  March  lowered  our  temperature,  and  proved  a 
tonic  to  our  minds,  we  could  talk  of  books.  I  introduced  the  theme 
myself,  but  now  I  can  say,  with  Tom  Moore, 

" '  My  only  books 
Are  woman's  looks, 

And  folly's  all  they  taught  me. '  " 

"  Then  this  is  not  love  of  which  you  are  thinking,"  said  the 
Stranger.  "  You  set  up  love  as  a  theme,  and  at  once  I  shall  find 
you  wandering  into  a  maze  of  flirtations  ;  these  are  whims  of  the 
hour,  and  are  not  real  love.  The  love  we  reverence,  the  flirting  we 
laugh  at,  unless  it  goes  too  far,  as  it  very  soon  does.  You,  John 
Frederick,  are,  on  the  surface,  of  a  very  susceptible  nature.  I  sup- 
pose you  feel  yourself  competent  to  give  us  a  dissertation  on  the 
tender  passion,  basing  your  propositions  on  the  fact  that  you  have 
been  deeply  in  love  some  dozen  of  times !  Now  I  do  not  call  these 
ephemeral  fancies  love.  You  are  like  Pope's  damsel,  who 

"  '  To  love  an  altar  built 

Of  twelve  vast  French  Romances,  neatly  gilt ' — 

a  very  choice  and  durable  altar  for  an  undying  flame !  " 

"  Well,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  I  suppose  before  we  do  fall  really, 
seriously,  desperately  in  love,"  and  he  glanced  toward  Violet,  who 
however  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  "  we  may  have  various 
little  notions  and  fancies,  which  amount  to  nothing ;  we  all  do  amuse 
ourselves  this  way,  and  where's  the  harm  ?  Suppose  you  first 
discuss  the  subject  of  flirtations,  and  then  get  at  more  serious  love- 
making." 

"What  are  the  symptoms,"  said  Thomas,  the  medical  student, 
"  that  show  that  these  flirtations  are  not  real  love  ?  " 

"  Let  us  have  a  diagnosis  of  the  case,  at  once,  Thomas,"  said 
Peter,  with  the  utmost  anxiety. 


250  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  They  are  diseases  that  I  never  studied,"  returned  Thomas. 

"  Haven't  gone  so  far  in  as  the  heart,  in  your  investigations  of  the 
frame,  eh,  Thomas  ?  "  said  Henry. 

"  I  think  the  first  difference  to  be  noticed  is,"  said  Samuel, 
sincerely,  "  that  those  who  are  merely  amusing  themselves  with 
flirtations,  change  their  minds,  and  seek  new  objects,  while  love  does 
not  change." 

"  There  you  are  out,  Samuel,"  said  George.  "  The  poet — and 
poets  are  love's  priests — says : 

"  '  Love  cools ;  friendship  falls  off — 
Brothers  divide.' " 

"  Still,"  said  Samuel,  valiantly,  "  the  nature  of  love  is  steadfast,  of 
flirtation  fickle.  Then,  too,  love  is  unselfish,  and  desires  the  good, 
happiness,  and  pre-eminence  of  another ;  and  flirtation  looks  to  its 
own  amusement,  and  is  engrossed  in  self." 

"  I  have  seen  some  people,"  said  Dora,  "  who  never  in  all  their 
lives  got  beyond  such  a  sentiment  as  that." 

"I  hope  I  shall  have  nothing  to  do  with  that  kind  of  people," 
said  Laura ;  "  selfishness  is  particularly  mean  in  its  nature." 

"  I  think  the  distinctions  that  Samuel  has  drawn  are  correct,"  said 
the  Stranger.  "  Let  us  add  that  as  the  flirtation  designs  only  the  pass- 
ing amusement  of  the  hour,  it  needs  to  fix  itself  on  no  solid  virtues, 
but  merely  regards  some  external  trifles  that  are  attractive ;  it  there- 
fore springs  up  suddenly,  as  Jonah's  gourd,  being  capable  of  perish- 
ing as  quickly.  You  often  see  two  people  finely  advanced  in  a 
flirtation,  when  they  have  only  been  acquainted  for  an  hour." 

"But  what  do  you  think  of  it?"  cried  Harriet,  puzzled. 

"  I  should  say  flirtation  was  dangerous,  and  to  be  avoided." 

"Why  you  take  away,  then,  half  our  amusement  in  social  life," 
cried  Henry. 

"  Perhaps  you  do  not  apprehend  my  meaning.  Flirting  is  make- 
believe  love-making.  It  is  neither  real  love-making,  nor  is  it  friend- 
ship ;  in  fact,  it  is  detrimental  to  either ;  it  hinders  true  acquaintance. 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  251 

Now  I  believe  in  love,  and  in  friendship,  and  in  pleasant  acquaint- 
anceships. These  should  exist  between  men  and  women.  But 
flirting  intervenes  and  destroys  the  three,  and  leaves  only  a  misera- 
ble sham  in  their  place." 

"  But,  we  cannot  rise  in  a  moment  to  the  seriousness  of  love-mak- 
ing or  friendship,"  said  Thomas. 

"  Truly  not ;  but  why  place  a  barrier  in  the  way  of  ever  reaching 
them  ?  Pleasant  acquaintance  one  can  pursue,  without  thought  of 
love,  and  if  the  acquaintance  brings  sound  friendship,  so  much  the 
better.  There  is  often  really  no  harm  at  all  in  what  is  called  a  flirta- 
tion, but  it  is  still  in  the  line  of  danger." 

"  What  danger  ?  "  said  Violet,  defiantly.  How  many  odd  gloves 
had  Violet,  their  mates  gone  to  some  sighing  swain's  keeping !  How 
many  of  her  hair  ribbons  had  made  knots  in  some  adoring  youth's 
button-hole ;  how  many  flowers  had  she  lightly  bestowed,  and  how 
many  handkerchiefs  had  she  lost,  without  especially  inquiring  what 
had  become  of  them ! 

"  The  dangers  are  these,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  we,  by  flirta- 
tions, lessen  our  sensitiveness  and  sympathies ;  we  lose  something  of 
the  nice  refinement  of  modesty ;  we  make  our  own  natures  constantly 
more  shallow,  instead  of  deeper ;  we  are  less  and  less  likely  to  know 
the  power  of  true  love,  when  we  content  ourselves  always  with  shams. 
In  proportion  as  flirtations  increase,  real  love  and  marriage  will 
decrease.  Then,  as  in  flirtation,  we  are  making  believe,  and  know 
that  other  people  are  making  believe,  our  zeal  for  honesty,  and  our 
sincere  respect  for  ourselves  and  other  people,  decrease.  Again,  as 
flirtations  need  no  solid  foundation  of  worth  to  rest  on,  by  flirting 
we  lessen  our  habit  of  investigating  the  characters  of  our  acquaint- 
ances, and  by  disuse  the  very  power  of  judging  weakens.  Now  I 
expect  that  in  social  life  you  will  make  many  acquaintances,  that  in 
the  very  nature  of  things  cannot  be  expected  to  endure;  they  will 
be  pleasant  while  they  last;  they  will  be  of  the  surface  of  things, 
easy,  merry,  full  of  jests,  pleasures  of  a  little  time  ;  but  all  the  same 
they  need  not,  and  should  not,  be  intermingled  with  a  pretence  of 
affection,  of  love-making." 


252  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"These  flirtations  seem  to  be  the  principal  amusement  of  boys 
and  girls  in  society,"  said  Peter. 

"And  in  mere  boys  and  girls,  I  think  they  can  be  better  tolerated 
than  in  young  tnen  and  women,  who  should  know  what  they  are 
about.  But  among  the  boys  and  girls  the  effect  is  disastrous.  I 
have  seen  high  schools  and  academies,  where  the  chief  business  of 
life  seemed  to  be  attending  to  quasi  love-making,  and  where  the 
pupils  did  not  consider  that  they  were  fulfilling  the  end  of  their  exist- 
ence, unless  they  had  an  engagement  on  hand.  The  result  as  to  the 
girls  is,  that  they  become  markedly  silly,  ill-educated  women  ;  really 
unworthy  of  a  sensible  man's  respect." 

"  But  why  more  danger  for  the  girls  than  the  boys?  "  said  Laura. 

"  The  boys  being  sent  to  college  or  into  business,  will  soon  have 
part  of  the  nonsense  knocked  out  of  them,  by  the  rough  authority  of 
active  life.  They  will  be  forced  to  diligent  study  by  the  terror  of 
examinations,  rustications,  and  expulsions,  hanging  over  their  heads. 
Or,  in  business,  they  will  find  hard  necessity,  and  the  example  or 
sarcasms  of  their  fellows,  driving  them  to  solid  pursuits.  The  girls 
losing  their  school  time,  and  laying  no  foundation  for  literary  thought, 
or  self-education,  remain  at  home,  where  family  partiality  may  fail  to 
see  their  faults,  or  parental  weakness  may  despair  of  finding  an  anti- 
dote. They  will  spend  their  time  decorating  their  clothes,  reading 
novels,  posturing  and  primping  before  a  glass,  and  going  out  to  con- 
tinue these  same  flirtations." 

"  I  think  you  are  very  hard  on  us,  sir,"  said  Harriet. 

"  Not  half  as  hard  as  you  are  on  yourselves.  How  many  have  to 
lament  all  their  mature  lives  the 

"  'Confusions  of  a  wasted  youth.' 

Family  life  and  family  affections  are  the  true  centre  of  human 
existence,  but  the  practice  of  flirting  antagonizes  these.  If  you  will 
look  over  your  acquaintance,  you  will  see  that  the  young  men 
and  women  who  are  notable  flirts  do  not  marry.  Or,  if  even- 
tually they  do  marry,  it  is  most  unfortunately.  They  have  wrested 


ON  FLOTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  253 

their  sympathies,  used  up  their  emotions,  obscured  their  judgment 
A  young  woman  of  refined  feeling  will  not  care  to  accept  the  atten- 
tions of  a  young  man  who  is  notorious  for  his  many  flames  and  en- 
gagements. If  she  have  kept  her  own  heart  and  its  love  as  a  sacred 
thing,  she  is  not  likely  to  exchange  it  for  the  burnt  out  ashes  of 
this  fickle  youth's  many  attachments.  On  the  other  hand,  the  young 
man  of  sense,  who  desires  a  wife  that  his  heart  may  safely  trust  in, 
whose  wisdom  shall  be  capable  of  giving  him  counsel,  and  whose  con- 
stancy shall  be  his  refuge  in  trouble,  will  not  bestow  his  affections 
on  the  flirt  who  has  made  and  broken  engagements  with  half  of  his 
acquaintances,  or  who  has  deliberatety  beguiled  young  men  on  to  a 
proposal,  so  that  she  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  saying  '  No.'  " 

"And  then,"  said  Peter,  "  as  thieves  will  not  trust  to  each  other's 
honesty,  I  suppose  flirts  will  not  rely  on  each  other's  good  faith,  and 
are  not  likely  to  make  marriages  in  their  own  set." 

"  Whatever  tends  to  decrease  marriages,  or  destroy  respect  for 
the  marriage  relation  in  all  its  stability  and  honor,  is  much  to  be 
deprecated,"  said  the  Stranger.  Addison  says:  'There  is  nothing 
which  exposes  a  woman  to  greater  dangers  than  that  gaiety 
and  airiness  of  temper  which  are  natural  to  most  of  the  sex.  It 
should  therefore  be  the  concern  of  every  wise  and  virtuous  woman 
to  keep  this  sprightliness  from  degenerating  into  levity.'  Now  is 
there  anything  which  so  perverts  sprightliness  to  levity  as  this  pre- 
tence of  love-making,  this  shamming  of  emotions  which  should 
be  sacred,  and  this  accepting  of  particular  attentions  from  almost 
strangers  ?  While  we  are  on  this  subject,  Thomas,  take  down  that 
blue  volume  from  the  second  shelf,  and  read  us  what  Ike  Marvel  says 
of  flirts." 

Thomas  opened  the  book :  " '  When  I  marry  a  flirt,  I  will  buy 
second-hand  clothes  of  the  Jews.  Still,  there  is  a  distinction  between 
coquetry  and  flirtation.  Your  true  flirt  has  a  coarse-grained  soul, 
•well  modulated,  and  well  tutored,  but  there  is  no  fineness  in  it.  All 
its  native  fineness  is  made  coarse  by  coarse  efforts  of  the  will.  True 
feeling  is  a  rustic  vulgarity  which  the  •flirt  does  not  tolerate.  Nat- 


254  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

uralness  she  copies  and  she  scorns.  She  is  always  gay,  because  she 
has  no  depth  of  feeling  to  be  stirred.  A  thrill,  she  does  not  know ; 
a  passion,  she  cannot  imagine;  joy  is  a  name;  grief  is  another;  and 
life,  with  its  crowding  scenes  of  love  and  bitterness,  is  a  play  upon 
the  stage.'" 

"  If,"  said  the  charming  Violet,  looking  around  with  flaming  eyes, 
"if  anybody  ever  dares  to  call  me  a  flirt,  I'll  do  something  dreadful 
to  them  !  I'll — never  speak  to  them  again  !  " 

"  My  dear  Violet,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  you  may  be  a  bit  of  a 
coquette,  but  remember  that  is  not  being  a  flirt  Coquetry  is 
the  thorn  that  guards  the  rose,  easily  trimmed  off  when  once 
plucked." 

"  Let  us  see  what  the  bachelor  says  of  coquettes"  said  Thomas, 
mischievously,  as  he  turned  the  leaves.  But  John  Frederick 
reached  over,  took  the  book  from  him,  and  pushed  it  away,  much 
to  Violet's  relief. 

"  Never,"  said  the  Stranger,  "was  truer  word  written  than  that  which 
I  read  as  the  expression  of  the  heroine  in  St.  Ronaris  Well :  '  We 
have  run,  while  yet  in  our  nonage,  through  the  passions  and  adven- 
tures of  youth,  and  therefore  we  are  old  before  our  time,  and  the 
winter  of  our  life  has  come  ere  the  summer  is  well  begun.'  When 
very  young  people,  long  before  the  time  when  they  can  properly 
and  prudently,  and  with  the  consent  of  their  friends,  marry,  insist 
upon  a  round  of  love-making  and  engagements,  they  will  find  that 
they  have  used  up  life  before  it  is  well  begun.  Summer  will  have 
no  ripe  fruits  for  them,  because  they  rudely  tore  off  the  blossoms  in 
the  spring.  The  folly  of  playing  at  love-making  is  a  great  folly,  in- 
deed. It  is  like  playing  with  powder.  I  remember,  when  I  was  a 
child,  I  often  saw  in  a  store  a  clerk  with  a  singularly  spotted  face. 
He  might  have  been  reasonably  good-looking,  but  his  whole  face 
was  disfigured  by  round,  jet  black  spots.  This  mysterious  appear- 
ance filled  me  with  horror.  I  was  told  that  the  spots  were  the  result- 
of  his  playing  with  powder  when  he  was  a  boy.  The  powder  had 
exploded,  and  been  bedded  m  these  spots  in  his  skin.  Marks  they 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  255 

were  of  a  dangerous  amusement,  and  he  must  carry  them  life -long. 
There  are  a  good  many  people  who  bear  about  all  their  lives  the  fatal 
marks  of  too  much  playing  at  love-making  while  they  were  young. 
Many  a  miserable  match,  a  wretched  home,  a  man  disappointed  in 
all  his  ambitions,  a  woman,  who  •  finds  life  all  dry  husks  and  no 
kernel,  will  represent  the  result  of  this  kind  of  playing  with  powder." 

"  We  are  apt  to  think  young  flirts  very  pretty  and  amusing,"  said 
Robert;  "the  young  men  run  after  them,  the  girls  envy  them;  but 
when  we  happen  to  see  one  of  them  grown  old,  we  admire  them  less. 
Where  I  am  at  college  is  a  Miss  Clorinda  Catchamany.  She  has 
some  money,  and  has  always  been  a  great  flirt.  She  is  now  over 
fifty,  but  she  dyes  her  hair  and  puts  on  false  curls ;  she  has  lovely 
false  teeth,  and  fills  up  all  her  wrinkles  with  powder  and  paint.  Her 
waist  is  about  fifteen  inches  round,  and  she  topples  along  on  high- 
heeled  s*hoes.  They  say  she  was  engaged  to  one  member  out  of 
every  college  class  for  twenty-seven  years ;  until  it  was  a  standing 
question  which  fellow  was  doomed  to  graduate  engaged  to  Miss 
Clorinda.  In  most  ancient  times  the  young  men  ran  after  her,  pur- 
suing her  with  presents,  poems,  letters.  Now  all  is  changed;  she 
selects  her  victim,  and  runs  after  him,  and  sends  him  flowers,  bpoks, 
jewelry,  letters,  pictures,  cigars,  smoking-caps,  slippers,  baskets  of 
champagne,  if  he  is  the  style  to  use  it.  And  so  he  lives  in  clover, 
laughs  at  his  inamorata  with  the  boys,  and  shares  her  presents  with 
pretty  girls  of  his  own  age." 

"  Come,  come ! "  cried  Violet,  quite  fiercely,  "  you  need  not  talk  as 
if  there  were  no  shocking  old  flirts,  but  superannuated  old  misses. 
Where  my  aunt  lives,  do  I  not  meet  Mr.  Tom  Hartletramp,  and 
is  he  not  sixty,  if  he  is  a  day — absurd  old  creature  !  He  wears  patent- 
leather  boots,  so  tight  he  can  hardly  toddle  in  them ;  his  hair  is  a 
wig;  his  moustache  is  dyed;  his  false  teeth  have  a  little  gold  filling 
in  them  to  make  them  look  natural ;  he  laces  his  waist ;  gets  a  new 
suit  every  month;  wears  bright  neckties,  and  always  a  flower  in 
his  button-hole;  never  goes  out  without  gloves,  and  is  only  to  be 
found  reeking  with  'jockey  club '  in  some  ladies'  parlor,  playing  with 


256  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

a  fan,  stealing  a  pocket-handkerchief,  and  lisping  out  something  about 
his  'susceptible  feelings,'  'this  divine  actress,'  and  'such  ecstatic 
weather ! '  You  young  fellows  had  better  look  at  home  and  see 
what  you  are  coming  to." 

"Well  done!  Miss  Violet!"  cried  Peter. 

"  I  trust  none  of  you  are  coming  to  be  such  horrible  caricatures 
of  humanity  as  these  two  portraitures  represent,"  said  the  Stranger. 
"  Consider  what  large  possibilities  attended  these  lives  at  their  be- 
ginnings ;  possibilities  of  goodness,  and  happiness,  and  usefulness. 
This  silly,  worn-out  flirt  might  have  been  a  matron  as  noble  as  Cor- 
nelia, with  sons  and  daughters  calling  her  blessed ;  her  home  a  shin- 
ing light  of  example,  and  a  fountain  of  good  influences.  She  might 
have  been  a  leader  in  good  works,  and  have  sent  a  fortunate  impulse 
through  many  hearts  to  the  end  of  time.  This  foolish,  foppish,  un- 
respected  old  man  might  have  been  the  head  of  a  household ;  have 
built  up  a  fortune;  trained  sons  to  be  of  service  to  their  country; 
might  have  helped  many  men  and  women  to  honored  positions.; 
might  have  reduced  the  sum  of  human  misery  and  enlarged  the 
boundaries  of  human  happiness — if  he  had  not  devoted  himself  to 
folly,  and  frittered  away  his  life  in  unmanly  trifles." 

"  It  is  very  evident,"  said  Henry,  "  that  these  errors  of  flirtation  are 
not  all  on  one  side ;  they  belong  to  both  young  men  and  women, 
and  are  as  dangerous  to  one  as  to  the  other." 

"  The  trouble  is,"  said  the  Stranger,  "that  very  few  of  our  young 
people  understand  that  they  can  be  friends  without  finding  it  neces- 
sary to  fall  in  love,  or  pretend  to.  In  the  years  between  fifteen  and 
twenty-one  why  not  enjoy  friendship,  without  feeling  it  incumbent 
to  get  up  an  eternal  passion,  that  shall  expire  and  be  rehearsed  again 
every  six  weeks  ?  This  the  poet  thus  describes  : 

"'Thou  hast  by  moonlight  at  her  window  sung> 
With  feigning  voice,  verses  of  feigning  love; 
And  stolen  the  impression  of  her  fantasy 
With  bracelets  of  thy  hair,  rings,  gauds,  conceits, 
Knacks,  trifles,  nosegays,  sweetmeats,  messengers 
Of  strong  prevailment  in  unhardened  youth.' 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  257 

It  would  be  very  amusing  to  think  of  the  tender  passion  thus  ex- 
cited by  the  'feigning'  (real  for  the  instant,  perhaps),  the  'knacks,' 
4  nosegays,'  and  sweetmeats.  But,  unhappily,  a  long  succession  of 
these  fancies  kills  out  any  hope  of  true  loyal  loving,  and  the  heart, 
thus  beginning  its  career,  ends  a  worn-out,  disrespected  flirt.  Youth 
is  the  seed-time  of  our  lives.  We  should  take  care  that  we  are  not 
sowing  seed  for  xegret." 

"  I  think,"  said  Dora,  "  that  we  are  beginning  to  be  impressed  by 
your  warnings,  and  our  own  meditations  upon  them.  Now  suppose 
we  come  to  practicalities.  What  are  some  of  the  follies  into  which 
we  are  most  likely  to  fall  ?  " 

"I  shall  first  warn  you  against  promiscuous  letter  writing  to  your 
acquaintances  of  the  opposite  sex.  Some  young  people  think  that 
whenever  they  part  with  an  acquaintance,  even  of  short  standing, 
they  must  begin  a  correspondence.  Many  young  men  feel  them- 
selves quite  at  a  disadvantage  if  they  cannot  exhibit  a  letter-list  of  a 
dozen  fair  ladies.  And  many  young  ladies  feel  that  it  gives  them 
a  pre-eminence  over  their  more  judicious  compeers,  if  they  weekly 
receive  and  answer  letters  from  dear  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry,  and  Ben, 
Fred  and  Joe."  • 

"  Where's  the  harm,"  said  George,  "  does  it  not  improve  our  pen- 
^manship  and  composition?" 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  dulls  your  frankness,  honesty,  and  sensibility, 
takes  your  time  from  studies  or  business,  and  makes  you  vain  and 
false." 

"  Oh,  now  !  now  !  what  a  charge  !  "  cried  several  voices. 

"  But  I  maintain  it  as  a  knight  his  cause  in  the  lists.  I  begin  by 
saying  that  it  is  right,  proper,  and  improving  to  correspond  with 
some  friends  of  the  opposite  sex ;  but  this  correspondence  should 
have  nothing  secret  in  it:  it  should  be  countenanced  by  parents  or 
guardians,  and  should  be  the  frank,  natural  expression  of  opinion 
and  friendship.  The  number  of  such  correspondents  should  be,  for 
various  reasons  of  time  and  propriety,  limited ;  and  we  should  only 

write  our  letters  to  those  men  or  women  whom  we  know  well,  and 

17 


258  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

in  whose  sound  judgment  and  pure  moral  character  we  have  well- 
founded  confidence." 

"  Here,  at  once,  I  fancy  that  you  lessen,  by  more  than  half,  some 
correspondence  lists,"  said  Robert. 

"  So  much  the  better :  less  letters  and  a  finer  quality.  Letters 
should  be  something  higher  than  a  scrawl  of  common-places  or  affec- 
tations. Some  of  the  most  delightful  literature  that  we  have  con- 
sists of  the  letters  of  highly  cultivated  people.  If  you  write  but 
few  letters,  and  expend  on  them  the  time  that  might  be  given  to 
many,  your  letters  will  be  worth  the  reading.  Let  me  tell  these 
young  ladies,  too,  that  they  should  be  careful  where  and  what  they 
write,  for  many  of  .the  men  boast  among  their  comrades  of  the 
number  of  their  lady  correspondents,  show  their  letters,  even  make 
fun  of  them,  lend  them ;  and  if  the  damsel — who  has  devoted  her- 
self rather  to  flirtation  than  to  her  studies — happens  to  have  erred  in 
spelling  or  in  grammar,  they  ridicule  that  also.  So,  girls,  beware." 

The  young  ladies  in  the  Bureau  held  up  their  heads  and  looked 
indignant  scorn  at  the  young  gentlemen.  But  the  Stranger  was  as 
justice,  holding  scales  with  an  even  hand.  He  continued  his  re- 
marks tranquilly. 

"Also,  many  of  our  ladies  read  to  their  lady  friends  the  dozens  of 
letters  from  their  admirers,  laugh  at  their  protestations,  joke  unmer- 
cifully at  any  faults  of  chirography  or  rhetoric,  and  end  by  having  a 
yearly  holocaust  of  all  these  letters,  when  their  boxes  and  desks 
overflow." 

"  Well,  sir,  what  shall  we  do  ?  "  said  Violet.  "  Some  poor  fellow 
that  we  know  leaves  home,  and  pretty  soon  he  writes  us  a  letter. 
We  do  not  like  to  insult  him  by  silence — possibly  he  is  lonely  and 
homesick  among  strangers — and  we  write  out  of  pure  humanity." 

"A  young  gentleman,"  said  the  Stranger,  "should  not,  when  he 
leaves  a  place,  begin  sending  letters  to  his  young  lady  acquaintances, 
as  taking  it  for  granted  that  they  will  be  charmed  to  receive  them. 
He  should,  before  he  goes,  ask  permission  to  write.  He  should  only 
propose  a  correspondence  where  the  acquaintance  warrants  it. 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND   LOVE-MAKING.  259 

When  he  proposes  writing,  he  can  easily  divine  from  'the  young 
lady's  reply  whether  she  really  cares  to  correspond.  If  she  replies, 
coolly,  that  she '  trusts  she  shall  hear  from  him  when  he  is  at  leisure/ 
or  says  '  that  certainly  she  would  be  pleased  to  write  when  she  can 
find  time,  but  she  is  very  much  occupied,'  then  he  will  know  that  she 
does  not  desife  his  letters." 

"And  then  what  is  he  to  do,  especially  if  he  likes  the  young  lady's 
acquaintance,  and  does  not  want  a  sulk  or  a  quarrel  ?"  .said  Henry, 
rousing  to  new  interest. 

"  He  can  wait  two  or  three  weeks,  and  then  send,  not  a  letter 
needing  a  reply,  but  a  semi-ceremonious  note,  stating  that  he  is  well, 
enjoying  himself,  is  more  busy  than  he  expected  to  be,  trusts  all  their 
friends  are  in  good  health,  and  so  on.  After  that  he  can  conclude 
the  correspondence  by  sending  at  intervals  a  paper  with  some  item 
of  interest." 

"  But  if,  instead  of  this  good  sense  style"  said  Violet,  " the  young 
man  has  written  without  asking  permission,  and  expects  a  reply, 
and  is  one  you  wish  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  when  you  two  are 
in  the  same  place,  what  then  ?" 

"  I  should  say,  wait  some  while,  say  three  or  even  four  weeks, 
before  you  answer.  Then  do  not  say  that  you  were  pleased  to  get 
the  letter,  or  that  you  hope  he  will  write  again.  Write  your  letter 
entirely  of  news  of  mutual  acquaintances,  have  it  rather  short,  and  con- 
clude by  saying  that  you  have  but  little  time  for  writing,  or  that  your 
correspondence  list  is  so  full  that  you  cannot  write  very  promptly, 
and  that  when  he  returns  to  your  neighborhood  you  hope  to  see  him. 
If  he  is  a  person  of  sense,  he  will  understand  you.  If  he  is  not 
a  person  of  sense,  you  had  better  give  him  a  lesson  by  not  replying 
to  his  next  epistle." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  as 
young  ladies  writing  to  young  gentlemen  whom  they  have  never 
seen,  and  soliciting  a  correspondence?" 

"  I  never  heard  of  young  ladies  doing  this,  but  I  have  heard  of  its 
being  done,"  said  the  Stranger,  pointedly. 


360  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Indeed,  it  is  very  often  done,"  said  John  Frederick.  "  The  fellows 
have  shown  me  dozens  of  letters  from  young  girls  whom  they  have 
never  seen." 

"  Did  they  seem  to  have  any  respect  for  their  unknown  corres- 
pondents ?  " 

"  Respect  ?  Certainly  not ;  evidently  they  were  fools,  or  they  would 
not  have  behaved  so  foolishly.  They  said  they  answered  them  for 
fun.  But  I  asked  my  chum  what  he  would  think  if  his  sister  had 
written  in  that  way  to  any  one ;  and  you  should  see  how  he  flamed ! 
4  His  sister !  She  was  a  lady,  she  was  a  girl  of  sense,  she  was  not 
likely  to  be  guilty  of  such  an  act.'  '  So  are  these  somebody's 
sisters,'  I  told  him  ;  but  he  went  blazing  on,  '  if  his  sister  wrote  to  a 
fellow  that  she  had  never  seen,  he  would  see  that  she  was  put  under 
close  guardianship  ;  he  would  go  and  wring  the  fellow's  neck  that 
had  dared  reply  to  her ! '  So  I  asked  him  what  he  would  think  if 
three  or  four  stalwart  brothers  came  rushing  in  to  wring  his  neck, 
and  if  it  would  not  be  a  good  plan  to  write  to  his  unknown  corres- 
pondents, just  what  he  would  think  of  his  sister's  taking  such  a 
step." 

"  Now  that  we  are  on  this  subject,"  said  the  Stranger,  searching  for 
a  packet  of  papers,  and  selecting  one,  "  I  will  read  you  a  letter 
written  by  a  lady,  a  friend  of  mine,  to  a  silly  girl  who  had  written, 
a  total  stranger,  to  this  lady's  son.  As  the  young  fellow  and  his 
mother  had  the  same  name,  the  letter  went  to  the  lady,  her  son  being 
from  home,  and  she  replied  thus : 

"  MY  DEAR  GIRL: 

"  Your  letter  to  my  son  fell  into  my  hands,  as  our  names  are  the 
same.  My  first  thought  was  to  drop  it  into  the  fire,  and  thus  end  it 
forever.  But  I  have  a  daughter,  probably  about  your  age,  and  I 
remember  that  you  are  somebody's  daughter,  and  that  on  your 
attaining  a  pure  and  lovely  womanhood  some  parent's  happiness 
might  depend.  I  see  from  your  letter  that  you  are  very  young. 
Before  you  lie  large  possibilities  of  good,  if  you  pursue  a  right  way; 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  261 

terrible  possibilities  of  evil,  if  you  pursue  a  wrong  way.  I  write  this 
because  I  trust  a  day  will  come,  when  you  will  feel  very  glad  that 
your  letter  fell  into  the  hands  of  an  elderly  woman,  and  not  of  a 
young  man.  Did  you  think  that  in  writing  it,  you  were  disrespecting 
your  parents,  who  would  have  been  deeply  grieved ;  that  you  were 
deceiving,  inasmuch  as  you  did  it  secretly ;  that  you  were  breaking  the 
rules  of  the  school  where  your  friends  have  placed  you ;  that  you  were 
forsaking  that  delicate  dignity  and  reserve  that  are  a  woman's  best 
ornament,  and  the  ornament  most  admired  by  all  honorable  men  ? 
Does  a  young  man  ever  respect  a  fast  young  lady  ?  Would  he  ever 
dare  love  her?  Now,  my  child,  take  this  act  of  yours,  which  no 
doubt  you  considered  a  trifle,  and  to  which  very  probably  you  were 
incited  by  foolish  girls,  older  than  yourself;  look  at  it  as  your 
parents  would  look  at  it,  as  I  look  at  it,  as  you  will  look  at  it  when 
you  are  middle-aged,  and  when  you  will  either  see  it,  your  sole  step 
in  a  dangerous  path,  from  which  you  early  retreated, 'or  a  first  step, 
rashly  followed  by  many,  that  heaped  sorrow  on  your  head.  That 
you  may  henceforth  earnestly  strive  toward  a  true  womanhood, 
is  my  sincere  desire. 

"  Very  truly,  etc., ." 

"  That  was  surely  the  very  letter  she  needed,"  said  Laura,  "  but 
young  men  as  well  as  girls  write  to  strangers.  I  have  known 
many  girls  to  get  letters  from  gentlemen  whom  they  have  never 
seen." 

"And  if  they  are  sensible,  refined  girls,  they  will  not  answer  them. 
Few  girls  I  hope  would  wish  to  venture  on  such  a  correspondence. 
But  when  a  young  man  gets  such  a  letter  from  an  unknown,  he' 
thinks  that  it  will  not  harm  him  if  he  answers  it." 

"And  does  it  ?  "  asked  George. 

"  Surely,  any  acquaintance  with  women  deficient  in  a  nice  regard 
for  decency,  is  harmful  to  young  men ;  they  wrong  their  own  sense 
of  honor  in  this  sort  of  correspondence  ;  they  help  another  person  in 
wrong-doing,  and  they  do  an  injustice  to  really  nice  friends  who  are 


262  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

corresponding  with  them,  just  as  a  young  man,  who  has  nice  girls 
for  friends,  would  do  them  an  injustice,  and  be  unworthy  of  their 
society,  if  he  went  with  bold,  notorious,  noisy  girls." 

"  There  is  a  subject,"  said  Catherine,  "  which  I  was  discussing  with  a 
friend  of  mine  in  the  city.  The  subject  was  the  receiving  of  presents 
from  young  men.  My  mother  always  taught  me,  that  a  young 
iady  should  not  be  receiving  presents  promiscuously  ;  she  said  that, 
except  from  near  relatives,  girls  should  not  accept  gifts  of  any 
especial  money  value." 

"  Your  mother  is  quite  right.  The  only  gifts  which  a  young  lady 
should  accept  from  her  gentleman  acquaintances  are  flowers,  or 
occasionally  a  book,  and  these  she  should  in  no  manner  solicit  or 
seem  to  desire.  Many  girls  accept,  and  even  covertly  demand  by 
hints,  and  in  other  ways,  gifts  from  the  gentlemen  of  their  acquaintance. 
Gloves,  jewelry,  lace-kerchiefs,  fans,  ornaments,  expensive  trifles,  such 
as  portfolios,  dressing-cases,  toilette  articles,  work-boxes  (which  this 
kind  of  girls  seldom  use),  are  the  trophies  of  their  art  in  extorting 
presents ;  and  are  often  yielded  by  their  miserable  victims  with  a 
smothered  anathema,  as  the  poor  fellow  feels  himself  overstepping 
the  limits  of  common-sense,  or  his  income." 

"  But  young  ladies  often  give  expensive  presents,"  said  Harriet. 
"I  have  seen  them  give  slippers,  dressing-cases,  smoking-caps, 
dressing-gowns,  and  many  other  things." 

"  Very  true ;  and  perhaps  these  same  damsels  spend  on  these  things 
time  that  they  should  spend  in  helping  an  over-burdened  mother ; 
or  money  that  their  father  can  ill  spare  them,  or  which  should  go 
In  charity;  and  also  their  fathers,  brothers  or  mothers,  are  likely  to 
^  without  any  tokens  of  their  remembrance.  This  system  of  forfeits 
and  philopenas — happily  going  out  of  date  in  cities — is  all  foolish 
and  wrong.  One  may  think  very  little  of  the  refinement  of  the 
young  woman  who  demands  such  tribute,  and  as  little  of  the  sense 
of  young  men,  who  send  twenty-five  dollar  valentines,  and  twenty 
dollar  boxes  of  Easter  confections,  and  fifteen  dollar  bouquets,  and 
are  over-lavish  at  Christmas  and  New  Year's.  As  husbands,  they 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE  MAKING.  263 

are  likely  to  be  selfish  and  then  bankrupt.  I  like  to  see  presents 
given  in  families ;  these  seldom  overstep  the  bounds  of  prudence  and 
good  taste.  If  a  young  gentleman  can  afford  it,  it  is  proper  for  him 
to  send  now  and  then  to  some  lady  whom  he  likes  or  admires,  or  at 
whose  home  he  frequently  visits,  flowers,  a  new  book,  or  some  pretty 
picture.  But  a  young  lady  should  be  above  accepting  large  gifts. 
She  wants  nothing  on  the  line  of  purchase." 

"  But  when  people  are  engaged,  what  about  presents  then  ?  "  asked 
Robert. 

"  I  should  say,  observe  much  the  same  discretion  as  before.  En- 
gagements are  broken  off,  and  then  there  is  the  return  of  gifts,  or, 
the  parties  keep  what  may  prove  an  annoyance.  The  young  man 
can  reserve  his  gifts  to  lavish  on  his  wife,  and  he  will  be  none  the 
less  ready  to  bestow  them,  when  he  remembers  that  as  a  maid  she 
was  prudent.  Love  can  be  shown  in  other  ways  than  by  costly  gifts  ; 
a  thousand  little  courtesies  and  thoughtful  attentions  are  far  more 
precious,  as  showing  more  heart,  than  may  appear  in  a  hundred  dol- 
lar bracelet,  or  a  locket  whose  gems  represent  a  thousand  dollars. 
In  fact,  some  presents  ought  to  be  regarded  rather  as  an  insult  than 
as  a  tribute  of  respect." 

"  You  spoke,"  said  Henry,  "of  tacitly  asking  presents;  that  is  no 
worse  than  asking  attentions,  as  some  girls  do.  I  have  a  cousin 
who  is  a  medical  student  in  the  city.  He  has  only  a  moderate  in- 
come. He  likes  to  go  out  into  society  at  times,  and  to  have  lady 
friends ;  but  he  says  sometimes  they  get  him  into  a  deal  of  trouble. 
Perhaps  he  is  calling  at  a  house  where  there  are  two  or  three  of 
these — young  ladies — they  think  themselves.  And  one  will  cry 
out,  '  Oh,  Mr.  Ralph!  we  do  so  want  to  go  to  the  concert  to-morrow 
night !  Are  you  not  going  to  ask  us  ? '  Then  he  is  obliged  to  ask 
them,  and  then  they  will  think  him  mean  if  he  does  not  get  reserved 
seats.  And  in  his  circumstances,  with  board,  proper  dress,  books, 
and  fees  to  pay,  the  three  or  four  reserved  seats  are  a  heavy  tax. 
Or  some  other  time  it  will  be,  '  Now,  Mr.  Ralph,  we  do  want  to  see 
such  or  such  a  play.  Won't  you  ask  us  ?  I'm  sure  it  is  just  on  your 


264  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

tongue,'  and  then  after  the  play,  as  they  come  home,  if  they  pass  a 
fashionable  restaurant,  one  of  these  hoydens  is  sure  to  exclaim,  'Oh, 
I'm  so  nearly  starved ! '  and  what  can  he  do  but  propose  to  go  in 
and  get  a  supper!  He  got  even  with  one  girl  who  had  forced  several 
invitations  out  of  him  for  herself,  and  her  most  intimate  friends.  As 
they  came  home  and  the  friend  undertook  her  part  of  the  role — that 
is,  to  hint  the  supper  out  of  him — when  she  said  she  was  '  dying  for 
some  oysters,'  he  said  promptly,  '  Miss  C.  will  be  glad  to  hear  that, 
for  before  we  left  the  house,  I  heard  her  tell  the  man  to  have  coffee 
and  oysters  ready  for  us  as  soon  as  we  got  back.'  So  she  had  to 
accept  the  joke,  and  provide  the  refreshments." 

"But  I  never  heard  of  such  horrible  conduct,"  said  Catherine; 
"why,  these  are  not.  young  ladies" 

"  They  call  themselves  so ;  they  dress  well,  live  in  good  houses, 
have  parents  reputable  in  society,  have  been  the  pupils  of  fashionable 
schools.  Still  it  does  seem  as  if  all  these  advantages  had  not  been 
able  to  confer  upon  them  ordinary  decency." 

"  Their  mothers  must  be  the  ones  to  blame,"  said  the  Stranger, 
"  for  if  these  girls  had  been  reared  with  a  nice  sense  of  honor,  and 
really  rjfined  feelings,  they  would  not  be  guilty  of  such  unwomanly 
behavior.  A  set  of  girls  may  begin  this  kind  of  folly,  and  per- 
suade each  other  to  think  it  smart,  and  dashing ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  ignorant,  grossly  vulgar  conduct.  I  intended,  when  speaking  of 
letter  writing,  to  mention  a  very  grave  error  into  which  some  young 
people  in  pursuit  of  amusement  have  fallen :  the  answering  of 
personals  in  papers." 

"  What  does  any  one  do  that  for,  if  the  personals  are  not 
addressed  to  them  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  I  do  not  think  a  personal  should  be  answered  even  if  it  is 
addressed  to  us.  If  people  want  to  communicate  with  us,  they 
should  come  to  our  houses,  or  write  to  us  in  our  own  name,  through 
our  own  post-office,"  added  Harriet. 

"  That  is  very  true,  but  many  young  people,  seeing  these  advertise- 
ments called  personals,  have  thought  it  would  be  very  amusing  to 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  265 

reply  to  them.  Sometimes  the  personal  asks  for  correspondence 
with  a  view  to  marriage,  sometimes  for  meetings,  but  whatever  is 
asked  under  this  veil  of  secresy  is  dangerous." 

"  Not  far  from  here,"  said  Samuel,  "  was  a  young  lady  who  was 
engaged  to  a  very  nice  young  farmer.  He  had  bought  a  farmr 
furnished  the  house,  and  all  seemed  to  be  going  well.  But  mean- 
time the  damsel  had  seen  a  personal  from  some  one  describing  him- 
self as  '  a  rich,  young,  handsome,  Western  lawyer,'  and  asking  some 
lady  to  correspond  with  him.  She  fancied  it  would  be  very  romantic 
to  reply  to  this,  and  did  so,  entering  on  a  secret  correspondence 
and  exchanging  photographs,  all  unknown  to  her  friends.  Only 
a  week  before  the  day  set  for  her  marriage  with  the  farmer, 
this  correspondent  asked  her  to  meet  him  in  a  neighboring 
town.  She  did  so,  and  without  further  consideration  married  him. 
He  only  allowed  her  to  stop  at  her  home  for  two  hours,  to  collect 
her  own  things,  and  then  took  her  off  to  Idaho.  Her  parents  were 
nearly  distracted  about  the  affair.  They  only  hear  from  her  at  long 
intervals,  and  have  learned  that  the  man  is  a  gambler,  and  supposed 
to  have  been  in  prison  for  counterfeiting." 

"  These  affairs  generally  have  some  terrible  ending.  A  very  artful 
style  of  personal  is  an  advertisement  for  a  governess,  clerk, 
amanuensis,  or  some  one  in  such  a  capacity.  No  one  should  ever 
answer  these  where  there  is  a  requirement  stated  as  to  age,  unless  a 
demand  is  for  '  a  middle-aged  person.'  If  '  a  young  person '  or 
some  one  '  under  twenty-five '  is  asked  for,  understand  that  the 
advertisement  is  a  hoax  or  a  trap.  A  young  friend  of  mine,  in  a  large 
city,  needing  some  employment,  replied  to  an  advertisement  for  '  a 
lady  not  over  twenty-three,  as  governess  to  two  small  children.' 
She  got  no  reply  to  her  application  for  a  situation,  wherein,  as  directed, 
she  had  given  her  full  name,  but  instead,  a  very  passionate  letter  from 
some  unknown,  saying  that  he  '  had  seen  her  and  admired  her  above 
all  things  ;  he  was  rich,  moral,  sure  he  could  make  her  happy :  would 
she  meet  him  at  such  a  park,  at  such  an  hour?'  She  put  the  letter 
and  the  advertisement  together ;  her  eyes  were  opened  ;  she  under- 


266  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

stood  the  deception,  and  put  them  both  in  the  fire.  She  answered 
no  more  personals  to  '  young  ladies  under  twenty-five.'  " 

"  It  needs  a  deal  of  prudence  to  make  one's  way  safely  through 
the  world !  "  exclaimed  Laura. 

"  Yes,  and  we  must  be  careful  what  amount  of  romance  we  permit 
in  ourselves.  It  is  this  romantic  element,  that  loves  mystery,  and  the 
unusual,  that  leads  people  into  snares  that  are  literally  spread  '  at  the 
head  of  every  way. '  " 

"  What,  sir,  do  you  think  of  early  choice  in  love  affairs  ?  "  asked 
Thomas. 

"  If  men  put  off  marriage  -later  than  thirty,  and  women  later  than 
twenty-five  or  six,  they  are  apt  to  conclude  never  to  marry,  and  if 
they  do  marry,  they  are  less  likely  to  harmonize  with  each  other; 
they  will  be  more  what  is  called  'set'  in  their  ways,  and  less 
happy  in  the  marriage  relation.  This  may  be  laid  down  as  a  rule, 
though  it  has  numerous  exceptions.  I  think  the  ages  I  have 
just  given  are  good  marrying  ages,  whether  you  consider  morals, 
health  or  finances.  People  should  make  their  choice  long  enough 
before  they  are  married  to  be  sure  what  sort  of  a  person  it  is  to 
whom  they  are  entrusting  the  happiness  of  their  future.  If,  by 
early  choice,  you  mean  boy  and  girl  selections,  I  do  not  believe  in 
them.  I  refer  you  again  to  St.  Ronaris  Well.  The  heroine  com- 
plains of  a  blighted,  distracted  life,  but  says,  '  when  was  it  otherwise, 
with  engagements  formed  in  youth  and  folly?  You  and  I  would, 
you  know,  become  man  and  woman,  while  we  were  yet  scarcely 
more  than  children.'  Let  us  suppose  that  this  early  choice  means  a 
very  early  marriage :  say  the  girl  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  marries  the 
lad  of  twenty.  Now  there  are  many  such  couples,  and  the  marriage 
is  usually  without  the  consent  of  the  parents  on  either  side.  The 
girl's  parents  would  feel  that  she  is  far  too  young  for  the  cares  of 
married  life;  the  boy's  parents  feel  that  he  is  too  young  either  to 
know  his  own  mind,  or  to  support  a  wife.  When  these  matches  are 
made,  the  unfortunate  parents  on  either  side  are  usually  forced  to  sup- 
port a  household  for  which  they  are  not  responsible.  Their  consent 


OX  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE-MAKING.  267 

Tvas  not  asked  by  the  youthful  adventurers,  but  their  care  and  money 
are  freely  demanded.  The  mother,  who  is  scarcely  rested  from  the 
fatigues  of  bringing  up  her  own  little  family — who  has  perhaps  just 
seen  her  nursery  vacated  by  the  last  small  candidate  for  the  school- 
room— is  obliged  to  reassume  these  same  burdens  for  the  children  of 
the  too  youthful  parents." 

At  this  minute  the  doctor,  who  was  in   search  of  his  son  Thomas, 
thrust  his  head  in  the  window.     He  had  heard  the  last  remarks  and 
interposed.     "  Now  /  have  a  word  to  say  to  you  young  folks,  and  I 
want  you  all  to  heed  it.     You,  some  of  you,  think  it  very  smart  to 
run  off  and  get  married,  long  before  any  one  thinks  you  are  old 
•enough.     Miss  fancies  that  she  has  raised  herself  far  above  her  play- 
mates by  her  early  matronhood.     And  young  master,  who  ought  to 
be  pursuing  his  studies,  or  learning  the  first  steps  in  the  business  of 
his  life,  struts  about,  and  takes  airs  as  a  married  man.     It  is  a  sight 
to  make  doctors  weep,  if  nobody  else,  for  we  know  what  will  come 
of  it.     Now  I  am  not  going  to  mince  matters  ;  the  probabilities  in  this 
case  are  for  a  large  family  of  children,  near  of  an  age,  and  feeble  in 
body  and  mind.     These  prematurely  married  couples  have  not  phys- 
ical and  mental  maturity  sufficient  for  robust  and  vigorous-brained 
-children.     The  poor  young  parents  will  grow  old  fast  enough  in 
watching  sleepless  nights  with  baby  sufferers — whom  they  cannot  by 
.any  possibility  nurse  with  judgment — and  in  following  little  coffins. 
The  girl,  who  at  sixteen  was  vain  of  being  a  bride,  is  very  likely  not 
to  see  twenty-four :  if  she  does,  she  will  be  pale,  thin,  careworn ;  her 
vivacity  gone,  her  hopefulness  lost  in  many  disasters,  just  when  the 
companions  of  her  childhood  are  in  the  first  freshness  of  young 
beauty,  hope  and  love.     There  is  another  point  to  be  looked  at.     In 
these  over-early  marriages  women  grow  old  much  faster  than  men. 
The  girl,  two  or  three  years  the  junior  of  her  boy  bridegroom,  soon 
begins  to  look  older  than  he  does.     At  thirty  he  is  yet  a  young  man, 
wliile,  if  she  has  lived  so  long,  she  looks  like  an  old  woman,  having 
so  long  sustained  cares  to  which  she  was  entirely  unequal.     Ten  to 
-one  the  man  has  by  this  time  found  out  that  he  made  a  hasty  choice : 


268  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

every  year  has  widened  differences  between  them.  He  has  grown 
mentally,  while  she,  poor  soul,  has  had  no  time  to  grow.  He  is  shut 
out  from  pleasures  which  he  longs  to  enjoy:  his  home  is  a  burden, 
his  wife  a  drag.  She  compares  herself  with  others,  and  sees  the  dif- 
ference. She  feels  that  her  husband  over-persuaded  her  to  take  a 
step  whose  result  has  been  bitterness.  It  is  not  a  pretty  picture,  but 
unhappily  it  is  true  in  every  line,  and  miserably  and  often  repeated. 
I  wish  I  could  keep  it  before  the  eyes  of  all  foolish  girls  and  boys. 
Come,  son  Thomas,  I  see  the  carriage  drawing  up  to  the  gate,  and 
I  want  you  to  come  with  me  to  see  a  very  nice  operation  in  trepan- 
ning." 

"  Well,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  since  the  doctor  has  drawn  us  such 
a  picture  of  premature  marriages,  who  will  utter  a  similar  Jeremiade 
over  Long  Engagements  ?  " 

"  I  will,"  said  the  Stranger,  promptly.  "  They  are  dangerous 
things." 

"  But  in  what  are  they  dangerous  ?  They  give  people  time  to 
become  mature  and  sensible  before  they  marry." 

"And  also  time  to  grow  apart  from  each  other :  to  change,  to  see,, 
perhaps,  some  one  who  suits  them  better,  and  to  marry  with  only 
half  a  heart.  Take  such  an  instance  as  this :  at  an  academy  or  high 
school,  a  youth  of  eighteen  becomes  engaged  to  a  girl  of  nearly  his 
own  age.  He  goes  from  the  school  to  college,  then  through  his 
professional  studies,  say  for  seven  years,  if  he  stops  to  help  himself 
by  teaching,  let  us  say  nine  years.  Then  he  is  lucky  if  two  years 
more  will  give  him  such  a  start  in  life  that  he  may  marry.  He  is 
twenty-eight  or  thirty  ;  he  has  had  ten  or  twelve  years  of  mental 
growth  and  rapid  progress ;  he  has  learned  much  of  men  and  of 
things,  seen  much  of  society.  Suppose,  in  this  time,  the  girl  has  not 
pursued  her  studies,  she  has  paid  no  heed  to  books ;  then  her  mind 
has  retrograded,  for  mind  cannot  stand  still.  Shut  up  in  her  home, 
with  few  interests,  few  sources  of  improvement,  the  years  of  waiting 
have  been  harder  on  her  than  on  him.  The  fact  of  her  engagement 
has  shut  her  out  from  many  little  attentions  that  others  have  received  : 


ON  FLIRTATIONS  AND  LOVE  MAKING.  269 

her  early  companions  have  married  and  found  other  homes;  the  next 
younger  set  have  grown  up,  and  think  her  old.  Her  story  may  be 
fortunately  different,  but  it  is  often  exactly  this :  her  lover  remains 
true  to  his  promise,  though  the  first  warmth  of  his  feelings  has  died 
out  with  distance  and  new  occupations.  They  find  themselves 
strangers  to  each  other :  they  have  so  changed  !  He  thought  she 
was  younger  and  brighter ;  she  thought  he  was  more  tender.  They 
each  might  have  been  better  suited,  if  that  youthful  fancy  had  not 
been  bound  by  an  engagement." 

"  Well,  how  help  all  this  ?  "  said  Peter. 

"Exercise  common-sense.  When  a  young  man  has  arranged 
such  a  plan  for  his  life  that  he  evidently  cannot  marry  until  he  is 
twenty-eight  or  thirty,  he  should  not  entangle  himself  by  engage- 
ments. He  should  not  pay  particular  attentions  to  any  one,  nor 
engross  the  feelings  of  any  young  girl,  before  whom  he  can  only  set 
long  years  of  waiting.  A  young  man  should  not  look  for  a  wife 
more  than  two  or  three  years  before  he  can  take  a  wife.  There  are 
few  hearts  so  buoyant,  so  busy,  so  unchanging  that  they  can  sur- 
mount, unchilled,  a  ten  years'  engagement." 

"  I  have  seen  the  '  outgrowing '  where  the  woman  outstrips  the 
man,"  said  Robert.  "  Perhaps  the  young  man  sets  himself  at  farming 
or  some  mechanical  employment  to  secure  a  safe  start  for  married 
life.  The  girl  goes  longer  to  school,  and  then  teaches.  She  studies 
and  thinks,  and  he  neglects  both  these  things.  Her  occupations 
refine  her  taste,  give  her  sedentary  habits,  and  render  her  averse  from 
the  very  kind  of  work  that  will  fall  to  her  as  his  wife.  After  eight  or 
ten  years  they  marry,  and  both  are  disappointed." 

"  I  don't  see  anything  left  for  us  to  discuss  but  unequal  matches," 
said  Henry;  "and,  of  course,  you  will  condemn  those." 

"  Certainly,  because  marriage  is  based  on  an  idea  of  equality.  Mar- 
ried persons  should  be  mated  persons.  What  Adam  wanted  was  a 
companion  mete  for  him.  In  marriage  one  supposes  equal  personages ; 
each  the  complement  of  the  other ;  each  supplying  what  the  other 
lacks.  Then  these  two,  being  not  contrarieties,  can  form  a  complete 


270  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

unity.  Each  can  find  their  fulfilment  in  the  other.  Unequal  mar- 
riages are  often  the  result  of  lack  of  consideration.  It  is  well  said, 
'  Hasty  marriages  cannot  be  expected  to  produce  happiness ;  young 
people  who  are  eager  for  matrimony  before  they  are  fully  aware  of 
its  consequences  will  purchase  their  experience  at  the  expense  of 
their  peace.1  There  are  few  cases  where  a  young  girl  can  be  happy 
with  a  man  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  her  senior ;  nor  is  she  likely 
to  make  him  happy,  their  tastes  being  totally  different;  even  less 
likely  is  a  young  man  to  be  satisfied  with  the  step  he  has  taken  in 
marrying  a  woman  eight  or  a  dozen  years  older  than  himself.  If 
carefully  educated  and  intellectual  men  and  women  marry  those  who 
have  no  interests  like  their  own,  who  prefer  ignorance  to  knowledge, 
there  can  be  no  companionship  between  them ;  each  will  look  else- 
where for  their  intimates.  So,  great  diversities  in  religious  opinion  are 
sure  to  produce  coldness,  discord  or  divergent  aims.  '  Can  two  walk 
together  except  they  be  agreed  ? '  Another  cause  of  unhappiness  is 
marrying  far  out  of  one's  own  circle  in  life.  Where  the  difference 
is  very  great,  all  one's  modes  of  expression,  methods  of  thought,  of 
living,  all  their  associates,  their  manners,  their  ideas  of  housekeeping, 
are  different;  and  if  the  couple  can  try  to  accommodate  themselves 
to  each  other,  they  are  not  likely  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
relatives  on  either  side,  whence  is  likely  to  arise  perpetual  trouble. 
Seek,  therefore,  among  your  equals  for  your  partner  in  life." 


CHAPTER    FOURTEENTH. 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES    OF    ETIQUETTE. 

HEN  we  were  discussing  our  entering  into  society, 
you  said  that  certain  rules  of  etiquette  should  be 
left  for  separate  consideration,"  said  Laura.  "Sup- 
pose that  we  take  them  up  to-day?  This  lan- 
guid April  weather  makes  one  unfit  for  very 
weighty  themes." 

"  There  are  certain  fundamental  laws  of  good  manners,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  which  remain  unaltered  from  age  to  age,  as  these  from 
the  Bible :  '  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man- 
also  on  the  things  of  others ; '  '  Condescend  to  things  of  low  estate/ 
or,  *  When  thou  art  bidden,  sit  not  down  in  the  highest  room.'  Like 
other  points  in  Scripture,  these  wear  well,  and  do  not  get  out  of 
date.  If  I  quote  you  some  rules  for  good  behavior,  addressed  two- 
hundred  years  ago  to  our  ancestors,  you  would  think  them  absurd 
and  uncalled-for." 

"  Suppose,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  you  give  us  some  of  these  old 
rules  by  way  of  contrast,  and  then  some  modern  rules." 

"  Very  good.  The  first  is  to  young  men,  I  suppose  :  '  When  you- 
hold  discourse  with  a  man,  it  is  ridiculous  to  pull  him  by  the  belt  or 
buttons;  to  play  with  his  hand,  strings  or  cloak,  or  to  punch  him  now 
and  then  in  the  stomach.  "' 

"  Hah  !  ha,  ha,  ha !  "  roared  Peter.  "  But  after  all,  we  now-a-days- 
find  people  who  seize  you  by  the  arm  if  they  want  to  speak  to  you, 
or  slap  you  on  the  shoulder  or  back,  when  they  come  up  with  you: 
or  pull  at  the  lapel  or  button  of  your  coat,  when  they  grow  confi- 
dential." 

(271) 


272  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Then  set  down  all  such  acts  as  obsolete  and  vulgar :  '  hands  off/ 
is  one  rule  of  good  manners.  Here  is  another :  '  It  argues  neglect, 
and  to  undervalue  a  man,  to  sleep  when  he  is  reading  or  discoursing. 
Therefore,  good  manners  forbid  it.  Besides,  something  may  happen 
thus  to  offend,  as  you  may  snore,  sweat,  or  dribble,  or  gape.' " 

"  No  one  now  thinks  of  falling  asleep  in  company,"  said  George. 

"  How  about  church?"  demanded  the  Stranger. 

"  The  old  rule  may  be  of  use  yet !  "  cried  Samuel.  "  People  who 
call  themselves  very  gentlemanly  will,  as  soon  as  the  opening  exer- 
cises of  the  church  service  are  ended,  compose  themselves  comfor- 
tably to  sleep.  They  deliberately  shut  their  eyes  in  full  view  of  the 
speaker,  and  having  thus  expressed  contempt  or  indifference  for  his 
•efforts,  they  often  get  further  credit  to  themselves  by  sleeping  with 
their  mouths  hanging  open,  or  by  loud  snores." 

"  Set  it  down,  then,  among  your  primary  rules  of  etiquette,  that 
it  is  particularly  bad  manners  to  go  to  sleep  in  church,  or  other 
public  gatherings ;  and  equally  bad  manners  to  disturb  such  gather- 
ings by  whispering,  laughing,  fidgeting  about  or  changing  one's 
seat." 

"  Bad  manners  in  church  often  come  from  parents  allowing  their 
children  to  be  rude  and  troublesome  in  church  until  this  becomes  a 
habit.  In  our  church  half  the  children  are  allowed  to  play  with 
books  during  service,  so  that  the  air  is  full  of  the  flutter  of  leaves," 
said  Harriet. 

"This  hymn-book  fiend,  in  the  shape  of  an  ill-bred  juvenile,  is  a 
terror  to  all  church-goers,"  said  the  Stranger.  "Children  should 
early  be  brought  to  church ;  but  once  there,  they  should  not  be  allowed 
to  disturb  the  congregation.  We  owe  it  to  their  future  good  man- 
ners to  teach  them  to  be  quiet.  The  hymn-book  fiend  seizes  the  book, 
long  after  singing  is  concluded,  perhaps,  and  turns  over  the  pages 
frantically,  as  if  life  depended  on  finding  a  certain  verse ;  eyes  the 
page  a  minute,  maybe  reads  a  line  or  two  half  audibly,  and  then 
dashes  at  the  index,  and  turns  over  leaves  at  a  great  rate.  Now  the 
book  is  restored  to  the  rack,  but  the  next  instant  comes  out  for  a 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  273 

minute  study  of  the  title-page.  Possibly,  the  leaves  need  airing — at 
least  the  volume  is  taken  up  by  the  covers  and  swung  to  and  fro. 
Then  it  is  held  before  this  interesting  creature's  mouth  and  blown 
into.  Next  the  disturber  of  the  peace  seems  to  mean  business ;  a 
place  is  selected  with  care,  the  brow  knitted,  infinite  attention  is  fixed 
on  the  chosen  portion.  Is  there  to  be  a  respite  ?  Vivacious  creature ! 
the  succeeding  second  all  the  leaves  are  gathered  against  one  cover, 
held  by  the  thumb,  and  then  suffered  to  escape,  with  a  loud,  flutter- 
ing noise.  The  ingenuity  of  the  hymn-book  fiend  is  not  yet  ex- 
hausted. The  back  of  the  book  is  placed  lightly  between  the  knees, 
and  the  covers  of  the  erring  tome  are  gently  boxed  from  side  to  side. 
During  this  fascinating  ceremony  the  hymn-book  drops  with  a  loud 
bang,  and  the  fiend  gets  on  the  floor  to  pick  it  up.  The  next  per- 
formance is  to  stand  thq  book  on  the  hand  in  various  positions — on 
the  ends,  back,  face.  Suspicion  seizes  this  active  mind  that  the 
paging  of  the  book  is  wrong,  and  a  counting  of  leaves  is  zealously 
begun,  and  continued  for  a  third  of  the  way  through.  The  binder's 
work  next  suggests  itself  to  this  vigorous  intellect,  and  that  is  ex- 
plored by  poking  the  stitching  with  the  nail,  and  bending  the  leaves 
entirely  backward.  The  anticing  of  the  hymn-book  fiend's  fancy  is 
only  restrained-  by  the  close  of  service.  Of  this  creature  it  can  be 
said,  as  of  Cleopatra, 

" « Time  cannot  wither  il, 
Nor  custom  stale  its  infinite  variety.'  " 

"What  you  say  of  good  manners  in  church  would  very  well  apply 
to  any  public  place,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  That  is  true ;  and  a  sharp  little  essay  of  Addison's  on  bad  man- 
ners at  a  theatre  will  show  you  how  you  should  not  behave  at  public 
entertainments.  Here  it  is,  describing  an  unmannerly  person  :  'A 
little  before  the  rising  of  the  curtain  for  the  tragedy  of  Macbeth,  she 
broke  into  a  loud  soliloquy:  "When  will  the  dear  witches  enter?" 
and  immediately,  on  their  appearance,  asked  a  lady  who  sat  three 
boxes  from  her,  on  the  right  hand,  if  they  were  not  charming  crea- 
18 


274  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

tures  ?  A  little  after,  in  one  of  the  finest  speeches  of  the  play,  she 
shook  her  fan  at  a  lady  as  far  off  on  the  left  hand,  and  told  her  in  a 
loud  whisper,  heard  all  over  the  pit,  that  we  must  not  expect  to  see 
Baloon  to-night.  Not  long  after,  calling  out  a  young  baronet  by 
his  name,  she  asked  him  whether  Macbeth's  wife  were  yet  alive,  and, 
before  he  could  answer,  fell  a  talking  of  Banquo's  ghost.  She  had 
by  this  time  fixed  the  attention  of  all  about  her.  But  as  I  had  a 
mind  to  hear  the  play,  I  got  as  far  as  possible  out  of  the  sphere  of 
her  impertinence,  and  planted  myself  in  one  of  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  pit.' " 

"  Is  it  not  ill-manners  to  be  putting  on  coats,  overshoes,  or  scarfs, 
during  the  closing  hymn  or  the  benediction  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  Very,  indeed  ;  also  to  rush  into  the  aisle  as  soon  as  the  last  sylla- 
ble leaves  the  minister's  mouth.  What  would  we' think  of  the  man- 
ners of  a  person  thus  fierce  to  leave  a  friend's  house?" 

"I  have  heard  people  say,  that  one's  manner  of  entering  and 
leaving  church  and  their  manners  while  there,  afford  a  correct 
gauge  of  their  real  refinement ;  we  can  tell  whether  their  deport- 
ment is  genuine  and  natural,  or  a  mere  veneering  of  servile  imita- 
tion." 

"  That  is  very  true.  To  proceed  with  my  old  time  rules,  these 
next  will  strike  you  as  very  rudimentary.  They  regard  behavior  at 
table.  '  In  eating,  observe  to  let  your  hands  be  clean.'  We  might 
add  that  it  is  etiquette  to  have  one's  hands  and  entire  person  clean 
at  all  times ;  clothes  should  be  neat,  and  properly  put  on,  hair 
smooth  and  shoes  polished.  To  neglect  any  of  these  things  is  to 
lack  that  delicate  regard  for  the  pleasure  of  others  that  real  etiquette 
demands.  Our  rules  proceed :  '  Feed  not  with  both  your  hands, 
neither  keep  your  knife  in  your  hands.'  When  this  set  of  rules  was 
printed  for  our  far-away  grandfathers,  forks  with  many  tines  were 
not  invented,  and  it  was  permissible  to  eat  with  your  knife.  Now  it 
is  not  good  manners  to  shovel  food  into  your  mouth  with  a  knife. 
This,  because  it  engenders  too  rapid  eating,  suggests  the  possibility 
of  cutting  the  face,  and  also  the  food  discolors  a  steel  knife,  and 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  275 

makes  it  look  disagreeably.  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  dif- 
ference between  feeding  and  eating.  Beasts  feed,  and  gluttons /m/; 
but  refined  people  eat.  One  eats  because  it  is  needful  and  proper, 
not  because  one  delights  in  gorging  themselves.  There  is  a  vast 
difference  between  living  to  eat,  and  eating  to  live.  The  one  makes 
the  higher  subservient  to  the  lower ;  the  other  maintains  a  proper 
relative  position  between  life  and  meat.  Solomon  well  warned  a 
man,  '  When  thou  sittest  to  eat  with  a  ruler,  put  a  knife  to  thy 
throat,  if  thou  art  a  man  given  to  dainties.'  " 

"  Speaking  of  '  feeding  with  both  hands/  how  is  that  ?  "  said  Peter. 

"  It  is  proper  to  eat  with  one  hand,  as  we  must  take  our  bread,  or 
portions  of  fruit,  with  the  hand.  So  to  put  to  the  mouth  a  small  bone, 
as  the  wing  of  a  bird,  if  it  is  not  dripping  with  gravy,  is  not  in- 
admissible ;  but  consider  how  dog-like  a  person  would  look,  who 
grasps  his  bone  or  his  bread,  or  his  piece  of  orange,  or  banana,  with 
both  hands." 

"  People  seem  to  have  a  deal  of  trouble  about  buttering  their 
bread,"  said  Robert.  "  I  have  seen  folks  lay  their  bread  on  the 
table-cloth,  or  hold  it  on  one  hand,  while  they  butter  it." 

"  Either  plan  is  very  vulgar.  Do  not  butter  a  large  piece  of  bread 
at  once,  like  a  hungry  little  child.  Take  a  small  portion  between  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left  hand,  and  butter  it  lightly  as  it  rests 
upon  your  plate.  Never  cut  your  bread;  break  it.  Bananas  should 
be  cut  in  small  slices  round-wise,  before  you  eat  them  at  table,  and 
your  orange  neatly  divided  in  its  sections." 

"  I  have  heard  of  a  man,"  said  George,  "  who,  when  finger-bowls 
were  put  on  with  the  fruit,  thought  it  his  duty  to  pick  up  his  and 
drink  out  of  it." 

"A  mistake  surely ;  but  not  half  so  bad  as  a  moral  wrong,  and  yet 
some  people  would  feel  more  disturbed  at  it,  than  if  the"  man  had  ut- 
tered an  oath — not  in  company  of  ladies.  It  is  good  taste  to  have 
your  finger-bowls  of  different  colors ;  thus  they  better  decorate  the 
table ;  with  them  should  come  fine,  small,  colored,  fringed  napkins, 
and  it  is  '  style '  to  have  the  water  (the  bowls  only  being  half  full) 


276  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

sprinkled  with  cologne.  After  eating  fruit  or  sweetmeats,  or  any 
such  dessert,  lightly  dip  your  fingers  in  the  bowl,  and  wipe  them 
with  the  napkin,  drying  one  hand  before  dipping  the  other." 

"  I  have  seen  people,"  said  Thomas,  "  who  disobey  that  rule  about 
the  knife.  They  hold  the  knife  in  their  hands,  as  they  eat  a  mouth- 
ful which  they  have  taken." 

"All  appearance  of  haste  at  table  is  unmannerly,"  said  the 
Stranger.  "  Let  the  knife  and  fork  rest  on  your  plate,  when  you  are 
not  using  them.  Handle  them  neatly,  so  that  they  shall  not  drip, 
nor  look  untidy.  When  you  pass  your  plate  to  be  helped  to  any- 
thing, remove  the  knife  and  fork.  Some  tables  are  furnished  with  little 
glass  or  silver  rests  for  knife  and  fork  while  off  the  plate ;  if  there  is 
nothing  of  this  kind,  it  is  not  polite  to  soil  the  cloth  by  laying  them 
upon  it,  so  quietly  and  unobtrusively  hold  them  in  your  left  hand, 
with  the  handles  upon  the  cloth,  and  the  blades  a  very  little  elevated. 
Do  not  pause  for  some  question,  or  reply,  holding  knife  in  one  hand 
and  fork  in  the  other,  blades  aloft ;  nothing  can  be  more  ridiculous. 
When  you  have  finished  with  your  plate,  lay  the  knife  and  fork 
upon  it  side  by  side.  Be  careful  and  do  not  overload  your  plate 
with  more  food  than  you  can  eat,  and  do  not  send  it  from  the  table 
covered  with  fragments  and  smeared  with  gravy,  a  sight  to  disgust 
any  one." 

"  Do  not  you  think  it  looks  shockingly  to  sit  leaning  over  the 
table  or  with  arms  or  elbows  on  the  cloth  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  These  positions  are  very  impolite.  Do  not  crowd  your  chair 
close  to  the  table,  nor  have  it  so  far  off  that  you  must  lean  forward 
as  over  a  space,  to  reach  your  plate.  The  proper  position  is,  erect 
without  stiffness,  elbows  near  your  own  sides,  neither  up  in  the 
air,  nor  punching  your  neighbor's  ribs.  To  keep  your  elbows 
in  place,  you  need  to  know  how  to  handle  your  knife  and 
fork.  The  position  of  the  fork,  in  taking  up  a  mouthful  of  canned 
corn,  or  of  mashed  potatoes,  is  necessarily  different  from  that  needed 
in  cutting,  or  conveying  to  the  lips,  a  bit  of  meat.  Now  you  should 
make  these  changes  neatly  and  deftly,  and  you  will  find  that  they 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  277 

are  the  natural  positions  which  will  keep  your  own  arms  and 
shoulders  in  most  graceful  play ;  be  neatest  in  action,  and  least  trench 
on  the  privileges  of  your  neighbor.  Etiquette,  relieved  of  a 
thousand  finicky  falsities,  is  really  a  nice  naturalness" 

"  Let  us  hear  some  more  of  the  ancient  rules,"  said  Catherine. 
"I  see  that  they  furnish  an  admirable  text  for  a  disquisition  on 
modern  proprieties." 

" '  Dip  not  your  fingers  in  the  sauce,  nor  lick  them  when  you  have 
done.'  Our  glossa  on  this  shall  run  thus  :  all  that  savors  of  gorman- 
dizing at  table  is  ill  manners.  It  is  needful  to  observe  sufficient 
care  and  deliberation  to  avoid  all  untidiness.  Take  but  small 
quantities  of  sauce,  gravy,  or  dressings,  of  any  sort.  Keep  your 
fingers  unsoiled,  and  when  needed  wipe  them  on  your  napkin. 
Our  ancient  author  proceeds :  '  If  you  have  occasion  to  sneeze  or 
cough,  take  your  hat  or  put  your  napkin  before  your  face.'  I  opine, 
at  a  modern  table,  we  would  have  hard  work  to  find  our  hats  for 
screens,  but  the  napkin  and  a  little  self-restraint  will  suffice.  As  to 
the  licking  of  fingers,  above  mentioned,  it  is  etiquette  never  to  put 
your  fingers  in  your  mouth  in  the  presence  of  people.  If  you  are 
so  unlucky  at  table  as  to  get  a  fragment  of  food  where  it -is  torturing 
a  tooth,  don't  suffer  purgatory  for  a  prejudice;  take  a  tooth-pick, 
hold  your  napkin  to  your  mouth,  and  remove  the  cause  of  pain. 
'  Drink  not,'  says  our  old  master,  '  with  your  mouth  full  or  unwiped, 
nor  so  long  that  you  are  forced  to  breathe  in  the  glass.'  Now,  all 
long,  or  hasty  drinking,  and  all  gulpings  are  inadmissible.  By  avoid- 
ing greedy  'feeding'  and  hurry,  you  will  avoid  these  errors.  It  is 
hardly  needful  to  tell  a  civilized  person  that  they  must  not 
put  their  own  knives  in  the  butter,  nor  their  own  spoon  in  a  sugar- 
bowl,  nor  use  their  own  knife  and  fork  to  help  any  person,  nor  them- 
selves, from  the  general  dish.  Don't  scatter  crumbs  or  skins  about 
your  plate  ;  regard  fitness." 

"  What  about  leaving  the  table?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"Do  not  hurry  your  meal,  to  finish  before  others,  nor  prolong  it, 
to  keep  others  waiting.  The  master  or  mistress  of  the  house,  the 


278  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

latter  especially,  will  give  the  signal  for  rising.  If  you  sit  by  a 
lady,  remove  her  chair  from  her  way,  as  she  rises.  It  is  well  gently 
to  push  the  chair  close  to  the  table,  so  that  there  shall  be  no 
hindrances  in  passing  out  of  the  room.  If  there  are  servants 
standing  about  the  table,  they  will  attend  to  this,  and  also  to  opening 
the  door.  If  there  are  not  waiters  present,  a  gentleman  will  hold 
open  the  door  for  the  ladies.  Leave  the  room  quietly,  and  not  too 
hastily.  In  these  little  matters,  different  places  have  different 
etiquette,  and  where  you  are  a  stranger,  quickness  of  observation 
will  stand  you  in  good  stead,  and  keep  you  out  of  error." 

"And  upon  observation  and  common-sense  we  must  depend  for 
a  hundred  things  more,  that  we  ought  to  know  about  the  table," 
said  Thomas. 

"  Certainly,  we  could  talk  half  the  night  and  not  cover  the  entire 
ground.  Thus,  the  ladies  should  be  seated  before  the  gentlemen  sit 
down.  Do  not  reach  after  things,  call,  speak  loudly,  condemn 
what  is  before  you,  nor  get  into  a  dispute.  Praise  is  in  order,  but 
do  rrot  over  praise,  nor  so  discuss  your  food  that  you  seem  to  care 
for  nothing  else.  As  long  as  you  are  suited  with  what  is  in  your  cup, 
and  want  no  more,  keep  the  spoon  in  the  cup  ;  put  it  in  the  saucer 
when  you  send  it  up  for  refilling  or  change.  If  napkin  rings  are 
furnished  you,  put  your  napkin  in  them  before  you  leave  the  table ; 
if  there  are  no  rings,  neatly  fold  your  napkin  and  lay  it  by  your 
plate.  But  we  must  not  spend  too  much  time  on  one  theme.  Here 
are  antique  rules  for  the  parlor,  or  drawing-room,  or  any  place  of 
social  meeting.  The  manners  described  are  we  trust  obsolete ;  I  give 
them  to  you  as  a  relic.  '  If  a  person  be  in  the  presence  of  ladies,  'tis 
too  juvenile  and  light  to  play  with  them,  to  toss  or  tumble  them, 
to  kiss  them  by  surprise,  to  force  away  their  hoods,  or  fans,  or  their 
cuffs.  It  is  unhandsome  among  ladies,  or  any  other  serious  com- 
pany, to  throw  off  one's  cloak,  to  pull  off  one's  peruke,  to  cut  one's 
nails,  or  tie  one's  garter,  to  change  one's  shoes  if  they  pinch,  to  call 
for  one's  slippers  to  be  at  ease,  to  sing  between  one's  teeth,  or  drum 
with  one's  fingers.' " 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  27? 

"  It  does  sound  terribly,"  said  Catherine,  "  but  all  these  things, 
nearly,  are  done  now-a-days.  I  think  in  the  country  they  are  more 
given  to  the  '  tossing,  kissing  by  surprise,  snatching  fans,  gloves,' 
and  so  on.  1  have  seen  a  deal  of  this  at  country  gatherings,  pic- 
nics, and  parties.  And  in  riding  or  walking  at  these  out-of-door 
gatherings,  the  young  men  think  they  may  keep  their  arms  around 
the  young  girls'  waists." 

"  But,  Catherine,"  said  Laura,  "  these  rude  things  are  not  practised 
only  by  country  people  by  any  means.  Last  summer  I  was  at  the 
seaside,  and  a  moon-light  riding  party  was  arranged.  They  were  all 
city  people,  and  went  in  big  wagons,  and  such  rudeness  I  never  before 
saw.  They  laughed  so  loudly  that  they  could  be  heard  half  a  mile. 
They  snatched  handkerchiefs  and  rings.  The  girls  put  on  the  young 
men's  hats,  and  the  young  men  returned  the  compliment.  They 
sprung  about  and  scuffled  for  places,  and  all  propriety  seemed  to  be 
forgotten." 

"  How  ever  had  they  been  brought  up?"  cried  Dora. 

"  I  don't  know ;  but  they  twere  supposed  to  be  good  society, 
boarded  at  first-class  hotels,  and  wore  good  clothes.  One  of  the 
young  women — she  wore  the  most  costly  suits  on  the  beach — was 
always  frolicking  with  the  son  of  one  of  the  leading  city  merchants, 
and  they  would  race,  screaming,  on  the  sand  in  their  bathing  clothes, 
and  rub  each  other's  face  with  sand,  wrestle,  throw  each  other  over 
in  the  water,  or  bury  each  other  up  to  their  necks  in  the  sand." 

"  I  can  hardly  believe  it !  "  cried  Harriet. 

"  I  assure  you  it  is  true.  At  a  large  boarding-house,  where  four 
of  these  young  ladies  were,  they  laughed,  and  screamed,  and  clam- 
ored so  at  table,  that  no  one  else  could  say  a  word,  and  a  number 
of  the  older  boarders  left." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  all  this  is  the  very  height  of  ill 
manners.  Loudness,  wild  display  of  one's  self,  is  ill-bred  and  vulgar 
in  the  extreme." 

"As  for  the  other  rules,"  said  Henry,  "  I  have  seen  people  sit  with 
their  chairs  tipped  back,  their  legs  crossed,  their  feet  swinging,  their 
elbows  on  their  knees,  in  rooms  full  of  company." 


280  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"And  I,"  said  Samuel,  "  have  seen  people  cut  and  clean  their  nails 
before  company.  I  have  known  folks  to  sit  in  a  street-car  whistling. 
I  saw  a  young  man  once,  one  of  a  well-to-do  village  family,  come 
into  a  room  where  there  were  fifteen  guests — and  he  came  in  with 
all  the  ease  imaginable — in  his  stocking  feet !  " 

"Oh,  Samuel!"  cried  Violet,  "/  never  saw  anything  as  bad 'as 
that ;  but  I  did  know  a  lady,  a  graduate  of  a  medical  school,  too, 
and  a  person  of  great  ability,  who  was  forever  '  singing  between  her 
teeth.'  In  a  drawing-room,  or  out  for  a  walk,  she  filled  up  every 
pause  with  the  most  aggravating  hum." 

"  The  root  of  the  matter  is  just  this,"  said  the  Stranger  :  "people 
who  act  in  this  way  are  vulgar  and  ill-bred,  because  they  are  full  of 
themselves,  and  do  not  consider  the  tastes,  presence,  or  respect  due 
to  others.  It  is  this  realization  of  what  is  due  to  others  that  has 
given  rise  to  what  we  call  the  general  rules  of  etiquette." 

"  Since  we  are  now  speaking  of  the  etiquette  of  the  drawing-room, 
or  social  gathering,"  said  Dora,  "  let  us  talk  about  the  forms  of  in- 
troductions. When  two  people  are  to  be  introduced,  which  one  do 
you  introduce  to  the  other?" 

"  Where  there  is  nearly  a  parity  in  age  and  social  standing,  the 
lady  has  the  precedence  and  the  gentleman  is  introduced  to  her. 
As,  '  Mrs.  or  Miss  Blank,  permit  me  to  introduce  Mr.  Dash.'  If, 
however,  the  gentleman  is  old,  or  a  person  of  distinction,  then  the 
gentleman  has  the  precedence,  unless  the  lady  be  also  old  or  dis- 
tinguished. Remember  that  Scripture  gives  the  place  of  honor  to 
age.  '  Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head.'  So  an  aged  lady, 
venerable  in  white  locks,  is  not  to  be  introduced  to  the  dashing  Gen- 
eral, or  the  flattered  author :  the  reverence  due  to  age  must  be 
observed.  When  you  introduce  two  gentlemen,  present  the  younger 
and  least  distinguished  to  the  other. . Observe  this  ryle  in  introducing 
two  ladies.  Where  two  young  men,  or  two  young  ladies,  are  to  be 
introduced,  then  all  other  things  seeming  to  be  equal,  give,  out  of 
a  delicate  courtesy,  the  precedence  to  the  stranger,  for,  says  the 
Scripture,  'thou  knowest  the  heart  of  a  stranger.'  " 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  281 

"Ought  people  to  speak,  without  being  introduced?"  asked  Dora. 

"  Some  people  think  it  the  cream  of  manners  to  treat  a  stranger  to 
a  '  stony  British  stare.'  In  fact  it  is  very  bad  manners,  ungraceful, 
lacking  in  sensitiveness,  and  in  charity,  which  last  is  the  main  in- 
gredient in  good  manners.  Suppose,  ringing  at  some  friend's  door, 
you  meet  a  stranger.  Should  you  stand  '  gorgonizing '  each  other 
until  the  door  is  open  ?  Or,  while  waiting  in  a  friend's  drawing- 
room,  a  stranger  enters ;  now  why  freeze  the  soul  of  this  person  by  a 
stare  which  seems  to  challenge  the  propriety  of  their  very  existence? 
You  will  be  none  the  poorer  for  a  bow,  and  a  smile.  An  elder  person 
can  and  should  put  at  ease  a  younger  person,  who  has  not  been  in- 
troduced to  them,  if  by  chance  they  find  themselves  together.  It  is 
easy  enough  to  say  a  few  civil  words,  to  offer  a  fan.  It  has  been 
aptly  said :  '  Schiller  complained  that  the  gods  themselves  must 
fight  in  vain  against  stupidity ;  and  there  is  no  stupidity  more  hope- 
less than  that  which  makes  a  woman  in  society  regard  her  own 
preference,  prejudice,  or  timidity,  as  of  more  consequence  than  the 
pleasure  of  all  the  rest.'  " 

"  Where  you  are  introducing  a  number  of  persons,"  said  Violet, 
"  it  is  so  stupid  to  be  obliged  to  go  over  the  same  phrase  all  the 
time ;  one  feels  like  a  parrot." 

"  But  a  little  quickness  of  thought  will  vary  the  form.  Thus,  instead 
of  the  perpetual  'Allow  me  to  present,  or  introduce,  Mr.  Blank,'  one 
can,  when  the  acquaintance  warrants  it,  say, '  I  am  so  glad  to  be  able 
to  introduce  Mr.  Blank  to  Miss  Dash.'  Or, '  My  dear  Miss  D.,  allow 
me  to  present  my  friend  Miss  T. ;  you  have  often  heard  me  speak  of 
her.'  Or,  '  Mrs.  C,  if  I  present  to  you  Mr.  A.,  I  am  sure  you  will 
both  find  this  evening  agreeable.'  Or,  '  Mr.  X.,  Mr.  Z.,  now  as  you 
two  will  certainly  be  congenial,  I  deserve  your  thanks.'  '  Mrs.  P.,  I 
have  been  looking  for  you  this  some  time,  to  introduce  to  you  Mrs. 
Q.'" 

"  But  suppose  sometimes  you  introduce  people  who  will  not  be 
congenial,  or  who  do  not  care  to  know  each  other.  Such  things 
often  occur,"  said  Harriet. 


282  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And  when  they  do  occur,  these  uncongenial  souls  need  not  make 
themselves  still  more  mutually  disagreeable,  by  making  Medusa 
heads  of  themselves  and  glaring.  It  will  be  a  stupid  person  indeed 
who  cannot  find  something  pleasant  and  sensible  to  say  for  a  few 
minutes  while  they  must  be  together,  and  then  drop  the  acquaint- 
ance as  easily  as  it  was  begun.  I  do  wish  people  knew  how  ugly 
their  faces  are,  when  they  put  on  the  '  loftily  repellant.'  At  the  same 
time,  at  social  gatherings,  all  parties  may  not  get  introduced  to  each 
other,  and  those  not  introduced  may  find  themselves  close  together. 
Then,  plainly,  it  is  only  courtesy  to  the  hostess,  to  be  civil  and  speak, 
and  try  secure  the  social  success  of  the  evening,  and  not  by  a 
suspicious  silence  seem  to  impugn  the  entertainer's  good  taste  in 
selecting  her  guests." 

"  I  have  heard  people  say  that  one  should  not  introduce  people 
unless  permission  has  been  asked.  It  may  not  be  agreeable,"  said 
Violet. 

"  This  is  a  rule  with  many  limitations.  Two  people  meet  at  your 
house  for  a  call :  manifestly  you  cannot  privately  ask  permission  of 
either  to  be  introduced.  You  must  just  take  it  for  granted  that  as 
they  are  both  suitable  acquaintances  for  you,  they  will  be  suitable  for 
each  other,  and  introduce  them  accordingly.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  not  proper  to  take  a  gentleman  or  a  lady  to  your  friend's  house, 
and  introduce  them  to  the  family,  unless  you  have  previously  ascer- 
tained that  the  acquaintance  will  be  agreeable." 

14  When  one  meets  a  gentleman  or  lady  of  their  acquaintance 
walking  with  a  stranger,  shall  one  bow  to  both  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  Certainly.  If  you  meet  a  lady  to  whom  you  have  been  intro- 
duced, it  is  her  place  to  bow  if  she  chooses  to  continue  the  acquaint- 
ance, and  you  can  wait  for  the  bow  ;  but  if  she  is  short-sighted,  or 
evidently  has  not  seen  or  recognized  you,  it  is  proper  for  you  to  lift 
your  hat,  unless  you  have  good  reason  to  suppose  that  she  prefers  to 
ignore  you.  Be  not  quick  to  take  offence,  nor  slow  to  take  a  hint." 

"About  making  calls,"  said  Dora,  "I  understand  that  it  is  the 
place  of  residents  to  call  on  strangers  who  come  to  their  neighbor- 
hood." 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES   OF  ETIQUETTE.  283 

"  It  is,  and  while  it  is  charity  to  allow  them  to  get  rested  and 
settled  before  you  call,  it  is  proper  not  to  delay  over  long,  if  you 
mean  no  more  than  one  call  and  there  to  end  it.  When  these  calls 
are  received,  they  will  be  returned  with  a  promptness  in  propor- 
tion to  one's  desire  to  prosecute  the  acquaintance.  When  you 
have  partaken  of  one's  hospitality,  being  invited  to  a  dinner, 
supper,  or  party,  you  should  make  a  call  on  that  person  within  a 
few  days  after.  When  you  call  at  a  house  where  you  are  but  little 
acquainted,  give  your  card  to  the  servant  who  opens  the  door,  so 
that  the  lady  of  the  house  may  know  who  waits  her  in  the  parlor. 
If  no  one  is  at  home  to  receive  your  call,  leave  a  card.  Calls  should 
be  short,  not  over  five  or  eight  minutes,  unless  the  close  acquaintance 
of  the  parties  warrants  less  formality." 

"And  at  what  hour  of  the  day  should  one  make  calls?" 

"  Here  one  is  to  be  guided  by  the  custom  of  the  place.  In  some 
places  from  eleven  until  two  are  the  calling  hours,  in  others  from 
three  until  six.  It  is  always  better  to  accede  to  the  customs  of  a 
place  where  one  can.  Ladies  who  pursue  a  profession  must  be 
allowed  the  same  privileges  as  gentlemen,  in  regard  to  making  their 
social  pleasures  conform  to  their  professional  interests.  On  account 
of  their  business  occupations,  gentlemen  usually  find  it  convenient 
to  call  on  their  friends  in  the  evening.  In  such  cases  they  must 
remember  that  only  an  intimate  friend,  or  an  engaged  lover,  may 
stay  long  or  late." 

"  What  about  New  Year's  calls  ?  "  said  Thomas. 

"  This  is  a  pleasant  custom — it  begins  the  year  in  a  social  way. 
Gentlemen  call  at  houses  where  they  are  acquainted,  or  where  the 
ladies  of  the  family  call  at  their  houses.  The  hours  are  from  half- 
past  ten  or  eleven,  until  five  or  six,  or  even  later.  The  calls  should 
be  short.  In  most  cases  the  ladies  who  are  receiving,  offer  refresh- 
ments to  their  callers.  These  should  be  delicate,  nicely  prepared, 
and  adorned  with  such  accessories  as  flowers,  silver,  glass,  fine  china, 
all  that  will  please  the  taste.  They  should  never,  in  any  circum- 
stances, be  accompanied  by  any  kind  of  malt,  fermented  or  intoxicat- 


284  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ing  liquors.  A  lady  who  offers  to  a  man  that  poison  which  may  be 
his  ruin  forgets  the  best  graces-  of  her  womanhood,  is  cruel  to  her 
sister-women  who  are  related  to  this  man,  and  takes  to  him  the 
place  of  a  tempter  and  deceiver:  she  is  not  guiltless  of  his  blood." 

"  I  think  the  offering  of  wines  is  becoming  less  general,"  said 
Samuel. 

"  Fortunately  it  is.  I  trust  that  we  shall  see  the  time,  when  it 
will  be  considered  as  bad  manners  to  offer  liquors  to  a  guest,  as  it 
now  is  considered  bad  manners  to  reel,  swear,  or  stagger,  in  a  lady's 
presence,  or  fight  in  her  parlor." 

"  What  is  the  proper  dress  for  these  occasions  ?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  The  ladies  who  receive  should  dress  more  richly  than  they  do- 
on  other  occasions  in  their  own  house,  except  for  a  large  party. 
When  a  lady  receives  guests  for  a  dinner,  supper,  or  party,  it  is  not 
good  taste  for  her  elaborately  to  out-dress  her  guests.  She  is  to  dress 
as  becomes  the  occasion,  but  less  lavishly  than  when  she  goes  out  to 
accept  other  people's  invitations.  For  New  Year's  calls,  however, 
she  expects  only  gentlemen,  and  may  dress  more  richly  than  usual. 
The  gentlemen  must  wear  their  best,  leave  their  hats,  canes,  and 
overcoats  with  the  servant  in  the  hall  before  they  enter  the  drawing- 
room." 

"As  I  have  declared  to  you  twenty  times,"  said  George,  "  the  main 
trouble  is  with  hands  and  feet :  where  to  put  them." 

"  Don't  think  about  them — except  so  far  as  to  keep  them  out  of 
mischief.  Look  where  you  go  and  don't  walk  on  ladies'  dresses,, 
lap-dogs'  tails,  or  over  chairs  and  hassocks.  Don't  put  your  hands  in 
your  pockets :  that  is  very  vulgar ;  and  be  sure  and  do  not  occupy 
your  troublesome 'fingers  by  handling  things  not  made  to  handle.  I 
have  seen  young  men  put  ladies  where  they  were  calling  in  an  agony 
of  apprehension,  by  balancing  some  costly  little  vase  on  their  hands, 
or  bending  and  snapping  some  cherished  paper-cutter.  Hands  so 
over  busy  usually  knock  over  or  break  things,  and  so  occasion  great 
annoyance.  Don't  sit  with  your  arm  twisted  over  the  back  of  your 
chair,  or  :n  any  other  inelegant  or  ungraceful  position.  Don't  walk 


QENLRAL   PRINCIPLES   OF  ETIQUETTE.  285 

•swinging  your  arms,  as  if  to  row  yourself  along.  If  a  lady  lets 
her  hands  and  arms  fall  easily  as  they  would,  if  she  had  clasped  the 
hands  and  let  them  fall  apart,  she  usually  holds  them  gracefully." 

"And  when  we  enter  or  leave  a  parlor  where  we  have  taken  part 
in  an  evening  gathering,  what  shall  we  do  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  You  will  enter  the  room  with  the  lady  whom  you  escort,  or  if  you 
accompany  no  lady,  with  some  young  gentleman,  like  yourself  alone. 
You  will  find  your  host  and  hostess  standing  in  some  convenient 
position  to  receive  their  guests ;  go  up  and  salute  them  with  a  word 
or  two,  but  do  not  make  a  delay  that  will  hinder  the  salutations  of 
•others.  When  you  leave  the  room  for  the  evening — of  course  before 
you  go  for  your  outer  wraps — go  again  to  your  hostess,  say  some- 
thing complimentary  of  the  entertainment,  of  the  pleasure  it  has  given 
you  to  share  it,  of  the  company  she  has  gathered — a  few  words  well 
chosen,  and  not  too  stereotyped ;  give  her  your  hand,  bow,  say  good- 
evening,  and  disappear." 

"Ah,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  it  is  easy  enough  to  tell  us  to  say 
the  right  thing — but  to  say  it — there's  the  rub.  We  find  it,  as  my 
•chum  says, '  hard  to  get  our  mouths  off! '  And,  after  all,  do  you 
not  think  that  we  transgress  politeness  and  propriety  oftener  in 
speech  than  in  any  other  way  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do ;  there  is  a  gracious  tact  in  speech,  which  is  to  some 
people  natural,  but  can  by  all  be  cultivated.  This  tact  is  not  hypo- 
-crisy,  nor  is  it  flattery :  it  arises  from  a  heart  genially  anxious  to  see 
•others  happy,  and  desirous  to  avoid  giving  pain." 

"  I  think  you  had  better  give  us  some  hints  of  the  etiquette  of 
conversation,"  said  Catherine. 

"  I  shall  say  to  begin  with,  that  refinement  of  speech,  graciousness, 
and  aptness  of  language,  is  a  home  product.  It  is  hard  for  those  to 
attain  to  this  who  have  been  reared  among  persons  who  use  rough, 
•barbarous  language.  People  should  consider  this  when  bringing  up 
their  children,  and  set  them  an  example  of  a  proper  use  of  the  tongue. 
I  often  noticed  the  coarse,  threatening  talk  of  a  four-year-old  girl, 
who  played  near  my  house ;  I  no  longer  wondered  at  it,  when,  one 


286  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

day  passing  her  home,  I  heard  her  mother  bawl  out,  '  Now,  Katy ! 
You  shut  up,  or  I'll  slap  you  over ! '  I  submit  that  that  child  could 
not  attain  to  any  niceness  of  language,  because  of  the  coarse  spirit 
of  her  home." 

"  That  is  so,  I  am  sure,"  said  Thomas.  "  I  have  heard  my  father 
mention  a  family  of  three  brothers,  all  college  graduates,  wealthy 
and  moving  in  good  society;  but  they  used  the  most  atrociously 
ungrammatical  language,  because  their  parents,  who  were  careless 
and  uneducated  people,  had  used  such  language  in  their  home." 

"  My  first  rule  in  regard  to  politeness  of  language  will  be,  use  no 
slang  or  coarse  words,  no  imprecations.  There  is  hardly  any  one 
now-a-days  so  vulgar  as  to  swear  before  ladies,  as  was  frequently 
done  a  couple  of  hundred  years  ago,  or  even  later.  With  the  swear- 
ing— concerning  which  we  do  not  now  refer  to  its  gross  wickedness 
— banish  also  unnecessary  ejaculations,  expletives  and  .cant  phrases. 
Cultivate  brevity  of  speech.  Do  not  have  vain  repetitions,  as  'you 
know,'  '  you  see,'  '  says  I,'  '  says  he.' " 

"But  this  brevity  seems  allied  to  curtness,  brusqueness,"  said 
Peter,  "  and  it  is  not  pleasant  to  be  with  blunt  people." 

"  You  mistake  the  meaning  of  this  brevity.  If  you  avoid  repeti- 
tions, expletives,  all  that  is  unnecessary,  you  will  have  more  time 
for  what  is  really  witty  and  genial ;  what  you  have  to  say  will  be 
worth  saying  and  hearing." 

"  I  think  contradicting  is  one  of  the  most  evident  exhibitions  of 
ill  manners  in  speech,"  said  Laura. 

"And  yet  we  cannot  agree  with  all  that  is  said,  unless  we  are  false 
to  our  own  real  views,"  replied  Robert. 

"  There  is  a  vast  distinction,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  between  differing 
and  contradicting.  Suppose  one  does  make  a  statement  or  an  asser- 
tion, which  we  cannot  let  pass  unchallenged.  But  let  me  say,  be- 
fore going  farther,  that  we  are  not  bound  to  question,  or  object  to, 
every  assertion  that  does  not  meet  our  views.  Other  people  have  a 
right  to  their  opinions,  and  their  expression,  as  well  as  we.  If  Smith 
thinks  Thursday  was  hotter  than  Friday,  or  that  '  D'Israeli  is  greater 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES   OF  ETIQUETTE.  28T 

than  Gladstone,'  or  that  Miss  Jones  looks  better  in  blue  than  in  pink, 
we  are  not  bound  to  express  our  differing  notions.  Suppose  he  does 
hold  all  these  views,  and  we  just  the  opposite,  are  we  surer  of  being 
right  than  he  ?  Or  what  difference  is  it,  whether  these  trifles  are  one 
way  or  the  other?  Even  in  regard  to  the  relative  'smartness'  of  the 
two  prime  ministers,  Smith's  opinion  will  not  make  a  particle  of  dif- 
ference with  the  men  themselves,  or  the  affairs  of  nations.  As  to 
that  word  'smart/  as  applied  to  intellectual  ability,  it  is  as  odious  as 
the  English  word  'clever,'  used  in  the  same  way.  Avoid  it — but  1 
wander ;  what  I  began  to  say  was  this,  do  not,  in  society,  feel  bound 
to  be  forever  on  the  negative,  attacking  with  everlasting  dissent  every- 
thing that  is  stated.  Let  some  declarations  rest  in  peace.  When 
you  do  feel  compelled  to  differ,  when  it  is  proper,  and  even  needful, 
to  express  a  contrary  opinion,  do  it  graciously.  You  can  begin  by 
a 'I  had  supposed  that  this  thing  was — so  and  so; 'or, 'Will  you 
allow  me  to  ask,'  etc.;  or,  'I  was  talking  with  such  and  such  a  per- 
son of  this  matter,  and  they  assured  me  thus  and  so;'  or,  'Permit  me 
to  differ  with  you;  it  seems  to  me — ;'  or,  'Allow  me  to  say,  that  I 
have  always  thought — '  Here  you  hold  your  own  without  offend- 
ing anyone;  you  may  maintain  your  own  position  without  mortifying 
your  adversary,  or  securing  him  for  an  enemy.  One  of  the  most 
dangerous  people  to  argue  against,  that  I  ever  knew,  was  a  lady  who 
always  began  by  seeming  to  accept  your  views,  or  at  most,  merely 
seeking  information  concerning  them.  Then  she  dexterously  passed 
on  from  position  to  position,  always  courteous  with  her  sharpest 
thrusts,  until  she  had  all  who  heard  her  on  her  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, before  they  knew  that  they  were  changing  their  minds.  You 
know  Socrates  won  his  victories,  not  by  contradicting,  but  by  ques- 
tioning." 

"But  do  you  not  think  people  are  very  tiresome  and  insipid  who  are 
always  agreeing  to  everything  that  is  said,  even  if  it  is  to  two  quite 
opposite  statements  in  five  minutes  ?  '  It  is  very  warm,'  says  some 
one  to  Araminta.  '  Quite  the  warmest  day  of  the  season/  says  Ara- 
minta.  'Are  you  not  feeling  chilly?'  says  another  person  imme- 


288  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

diately.     '  Yes,  indeed,  it  is  a  very  raw  evening/  says  complaisant 
Araminta." 

"O,  Violet!  you  remind  us  of  Polonius,"  cried  Robert. 

"  '  Hamlet. — Do  you  see  that  cloud  yonder,  almost  like  a  camel  ? 

"  '  Polonius. — By  the  mass !  and  'tis  like  a  camel,  indeed. 

"  '  Hamlet. — Methinks  it  is  like  a  weasel. 

" '  Polonius. — It  is  backed  like  a  weasel. 

"  '  Hamlet.—  Or,  like  a  whale. 

"  '  Polonius. — It  is  very  like  a  whale.'  " 

"  Well,  I  do  hate  that  kind  of  people :  they  are  so  insipid  there  is 
no  pleasure  in  talking  with  them,"  cried  Violet. 

"  Yes,  it  is  as  foolish  to  be  always  in  the  affirmative,  as  it  is  vexa- 
tious to  be  always  in  the  negative.  By  this  endless  agreeing  one 
loses  individuality.  If  we  think  at  all,  it  is  impossible  that  we  should 
always  find  our  views  coincident  with  those  of  every  person  we 
meet.  It  is  not,  as  some  people  think,  the  height  of  good  manners, 
to  be  a  mere  social  echo,  chiming  in  with  the  expressions  of  whoever 
speaks." 

"  Next  to  the  contradicting,"  said  Catherine,  "  comes,  I  think,  the 
rudeness  of  curiosity — this  asking  of  impertinent  questions !  There 
are  some  persons  who  seize  you  as.  persistently  as  the  ancient  mar- 
iner did  the  wedding  guest ;  but  instead  of  desiring  to  tell  a  tale, 
their  idea  is  to  ask  questions,  and  about  what  in  no  way  concerns 
them." 

"  There  is  nothing  more  grossly  vulgar  than  this  prying  curiosity. 
If  you  find  a  spark  of  it  in  yourselves  trample  it  out ;  never  fan  it 
to  a  flame  by  indulgence.  Let  me  tell  you  that  inquisitive  people 
are  gossiping,  mischief-making  people.  They  fill  themselves  so  full 
of  the  private  affairs  of  other  persons,  that  they  must  give  vent  to 
their  surfeit  of  information,  by  running  over  in  gossip.  Lay  this 
down  as  a  fundamental  rule  in  the  etiquette  of  conversation,  that  all 
prying  and  '  pumping'  are  positively  forbidden.  The  low,  petty  mind 
here  unmistakably  reveals  itself.  '  Hold  your  tongue  and  no  one 
will  know  you  are  a  fool,"  is  a  famous  injunction.  If  you  have  this 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES   OF  ETIQUETTE.  289 

mean,  intermeddling  nature,  hold  your  tongue  carefully,  and  no  one 
will  find  you  out.  But  what  do  I  say  ?  If  you  are  so  thoroughly 
ill  bred  as  to  be  inquisitive,  it  is  impossible  that  you  should  have 
sense  enough  to  keep  still !  " 

"  Some  people  are  very  quick  to  take  offence  in  conversation," 
said  Thomas ;  "  they  are  so  hasty,  that  you  feel  when  you  talk  to 
them  as  if  you  were  stirring  up  a  keg  of  nitro-glycerine.  They 
suspect  an  innuendo,  or  a  personal  reference  at  every  turn  in  the 
conversation." 

"  This  habit  of  mind  comes  usually  from  an  overweening  self- 
esteem.  He  is  a  wise  man  who  is  too  wise  to  take  offence.  An  old 
Latin  proverb  is — '  He  laughs  :  but  I  am  not  laughed  at.'  A  proper 
self-confidence  will  protect  us  from  fear  of  slights,  and  a  proper 
self- forgetful  ness  will  save  us  from  seeking  for  slights.  Let  me  now 
give  you  a  precept  that  demands  the  tact  that  I  commended  to  you, 
as  an  element  in  conversation.  We  are  often  forced  to  refuse  favors 
that  are  asked  of  us.  Some  people  make  refusals  doubly  painful  by 
abruptness.  Now  there  is  hardly  a  person  or  a  thing  of  which  some- 
thing pleasant  may  not  be  said.  Therefore  make  it  a  rule,  always  to 
tie  a  compliment  to  a  refusal.  Some  people  refuse  a  favor  so  gracefully 
that  it  is  more  agreeable  than  other  people's  consent.  In  fact,  there 
is  no  place  such  a  '  tight  fit'  for  us  in  conversation,  that  a  little  tact 
will  not  carry  us  out.  But  we  shall  never  possess  this  invaluable 
tact,  if  we  enjoy  giving  pain  to  others.  Some  people  like  to  give  pain, 
to  wound  by  their  words ;  and  with  this  frame  of  mind  they  never 
will  gain  the  grace  of  tact.  Let  me  tell  you  that  this  love  of  giving 
pain  arises  from  a  secret  sense  of  inferiority.  It  is  of  the  snake  na- 
ture, that  crawls  and  hates  all  erect  things.  People  of  this  disposition 
generally  try  to  veneer  their  viciousness  by  calling  it  '  honesty,'  and 
'justice,'  and  'what  is  due  to  their  neighbor;'  while  secretly,  all 
the  while,  it  is  a  tribute  paid  to  their  own  small  natures;  it  is  the 
outcome  of  envy,  of  jealousy.  If  these  people  differ  with  you,  they 
do  it  roughly ;  if  they  condemn,  they  do  it  coarsely  and  violently — 
shut  out  from  such  opportunities,  they  tell  you  something  ugly  that 
19 


290  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

some  one  else  has  said,  and  watch  to  see  how  you  will  take  it. 
Nothing  secretly  aggravates  them  more  than  for  you  to  receive  the 
unpleasant  words  with  unaltered  tranquillity." 

"  I  think,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  that  we  now  know  a  great  many 
little  '  tricks  and  manners,'  that  we  must  avoid,  if  we  would  be  rea- 
sonably agreeable  and  polite  in  conversation.  But  if  we  are  to  be: 
attractive  in  society,  we  should  have  something  fresh  and  entertain- 
ing to  say." 

"  That  you  can  reach  by  the  practice  of  conversation,  when  you 
are  careful  to  maintain  a  reserve  force  of  material  by  the  cultivation 
of  your  minds.  There  is  a  wearisome  deal  of  small  talk  in  society. 
I  cannot  better  expose  to  you  its  shallowness,  than  by  reading  to  you 
a  passage  from  Taine's  Pyrenees.  Thus  : 

"  '  But,  these  people  talk.' 

"  '  Go  forward  and  listen :  there  is  nothing  improper  in  so  doing, 
I  assure  you.' 

"  He  returns  after  a  minute. 

"  '  What  did  the  gentleman  say?  ' 

" '  He  came  up  briskly,  smiled  delicately,  and  with  a  gesture,  as 
of  a  happy  discoverer,  he  remarked — that  it  was  warm' 

"  'And  the  lady  ? ' 

"  'The  lady's  eyes  flashed.  With  an  enchanting  smile  of  approval, 
she  answered — that  it  was  indeed.' 

"  Judge  what  constraint  they  must  have  imposed  on  themselves. 
The  gentleman  is  thirty  years  old ;  for  twelve  years  he  has  known 
his  phrase :  the  lady  is  twenty-two ;  she  has  known  her  phrase  for 
seven  years.  Each  has  made  and  heard  the  question  and  answer, 
three  or  four  thousand  times,  and  yet — they  appear  interested  and 
surprised.  What  empire  over  self!  What  force  of  nature !  You 
see  clearly  that  these  people  who  are  called  triflers  are  stoics  upon 
occasion." 

"  Well,"  said  Violet,  "  is  it  not  ridiculous  !  And  yet,  it  never 
appeared  quite  so  absurd  to  me  before.  I  remember,  though,  that 
Addison  tells  us  in  the  Spectator,  that  there  was  a  time  when,  in 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  291 

France,  it  was  considered  quite  vulgar  for  a  lady  to  know  how  to 
pronounce  a  hard  word,  or  use  it  properly.  If  ignorance  were  really 
cultivated  in  that  way,  can  we  wonder  that  society  yet  is  in  the  region 
of  small  talk?" 

"  Let  us  be  thankful,"  said  Peter,  "that  the  fashion  of  ignorance  is 
going  out.  People  now  make  a  fashion  of  cultivation,  even  if  they 
do  not  possess  it :  as  the  member  of  the  art  club,  who  cries  to  his 
brother  member,  '  Jackson,  what  is  this  ^Esthetic  they  all  talk  about  ? 
Is  it  a  new  style  of  dance  ?  ' 

"'^Esthetic!  ^Esthetic  !  Why,  you've  got  me  there.  But  no  :  I 
have  it :  you  pronounce  it  wrong.  Put  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable. 
It  means — not  believing  in  God.'  " 

"  Next  to  this  affectation  of  ignorance,  and  akin  to  it,"  said  the 
Stranger,  "  is  the  affectation  of  indifference.  Some  people  think  it 
etiquette  to  be  interested  in  nothing.  Now  as  it  is  unspeakably  rude 
to  open  your  mouth  and  yawn  in  any  one's  face,  so  it  is  rude  to  in- 
dulge in  this  indifference,  ivhich  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  menial 
yazun." 

"And  what  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  this  indifference  is  so  ill- 
bred?"  asked  Harriet. 

"  Because  it  is,  in  the  first  place,  an  assumption  of  superiority,  to 
those  who  speak  to  you,  or  try  to  interest  you.  It  is  a  vain  assump- 
tion of  superiority  to  human  nature,  its  cares,  its  emotions,  an  as- 
sumption of  superiority  to  all  the 'tremendous  social  and  moral 
problems,  that  are  working  themselves  out  around  us;  of  superiority 
to  nature,  to  her  glorious  spectacles,  her  exquisite  beauties,  her 
ravishing  harmonies.  Shall  we  say  it  reaches  so  far  as  to  God  on 
his  throne,  and  assumes  that  no  work  of  his  hand,  no  guiding  of 
his  providence,  can  rouse  the  interest  of  this  self-constituted  sleeping 
Brahma  ?  " 

"  You  make  it  a  crime,  as  well  as  a  folly,"  said  Dora,  softly. 

"  Is  it  not  ?  Does  it  not  deny  nature  and  live  a  lie  ?  And  does 
it  not  debar  intellectual  and  moral  progress,  and  remove  man  from 
sympathy,  when  the  first  duty  God  sets  him  is  to  sympathize?  There 
was  One  who  walked  in  Galilee — whenever  was  He  indifferent?" 


292  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Well,"  said  Robert,  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  this  pride  deserves  all 
you  say  of  it.  I  remember,  it  is  accounted  in  the  Scripture  a  great 
sin.  Setting  the  morality  of  it  apart,  I  think  there  is  nothing  more 
awkward  than  pride.  Out  of  it  spring  stiffness  and  affectation,  and 
both  are  ill-bred,  and  always  the  cause  of  our  committing  some 
error." 

"  There  is  another  very  vulgar  failing,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  and 
that  is  ostentation.  Ostentation  is  rude  in  the  extreme,  and  true  merit, 
on  the  contrary,  is  unassuming,  and  seldom  gets  in  any  one's  way. 
You  find  ostentation  oftenest  exhibited  by  people  of  low  origin,  who 
by  some  sudden  rise  in  fortune  have  lost  whatever  decent  common- 
sense  they  once  possessed.  I  remember  seeing  a  gorgeously  over- 
dressed woman,  passing  some  neat  three-story  French  houses  in  the 
suburbs  of  a  city,  and  as  the  inmates  of  the  house  happened  to  be 
in  the  front  garden  gathering  some  flowers,  this  dame  cried  out : 
' Do  anybody  live  in  them  little  houses!'  The  woman's  language 
vouched  for  her  low  origin,  and  probably  a  one-roomed  cabin,  or  a 
back  alley,  had  been  the  early  home  of  this  wondererzA.  people  who 
could  live  in  a  twelve-room  brick  house.  I  recall  also  this  incident : 

" '  You  are  building  a  very  handsome  house,'  said  one  lady  to 
another. 

" '  O,  it's  a  shelter — a  mere  shelter/  was  the  reply. 

"  Now  who  was  this  person  to  whom  a  hundred  thousand  dollar 
house  was — a  mere  shelter? 

"A  woman  who  began  her  married  life  by  taking  in  sewing  in  a 
room  over  the  shop  where  her  husband  clerked.  In  those  early  days 
she  had  been  a  person  of  some  sense  and  energy,  but  an  oil-well  had 
thrown  her  off  her  mental  balance,  and  no  princess  royal  ever  had 
so  much  assumption.  Beware  of  this  arrogance.  It  is  impertinent 
to  your  neighbor,  and  will  render  people  suspicious  of  your  origin." 

"  Now,  in  speaking  of  our  conversation,"  said  Thomas,  "  I  want  to 
know  something  about  forms  of  address." 

"  To  gentlemen  and  ladies  older  than  yourself,  Sir,  and  Madam ; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  are  appropriate.  Thus,  '  Did  you  speak  to  me,  sir?' 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  293 

'  Shall  I  find  you  a  chair,  madam  ? '  Observe  how  much  this  Sir 
and  Madam  improve  your  form  of  speech.  In  some  places  it  is  the 
custom,  where  there  is  an  old  lady  of  the  same  name  as  one  or  more 
younger  ladies,  to  give  the  senior  lady  the  style  madame,  instead  of 
Mrs.;  as,  Madame  Graham,  Madame  Lester,  where  there  are  several 
ladies  named  Mrs.  Lester,  or  Mrs.  Graham.  If  a  person  really  has 
the  title  judge,  governor,  colonel,  of  course,  one  addresses  him  by  it; 
but  it  is  folly  to  confer  these  titles  where  they  do  not  truly  belong. 
Do  not  be  in  haste  to  call  young  folks  of  the  opposite  sex  by  their 
first  names,  as  John,  George,  Helen,  Maria.  When  you  are  so  far 
intimate  as  to  make  the  surname  seem  stiff,  in  ordinary  intercourse, 
say  Mr.  John,  Mr.  George,  Miss  Helen,  Miss  Maria.  These  little 
courtesies  reflect  their  light  on  yourselves.  Avoid  nicknames  in 
addressing  people.  It  is  very  vulgar  to  be  bawling  Bill,  Ben,  Sue, 
Nell,  after  your  acquaintances ;  no  lady  would  permit  it,  no  gentleman 
would  be  guilty  of  it." 

"How  about  shaking  hands?"  asked  Laura. 

"A  lady  shakes  hands  with  her  glove  on,  if  she  is  wearing  gloves 
at  that  moment;  but  a  gentleman  should  remove  his  glove,  or  excuse 
it.  Nothing  is. more  presuming  and  vulgar,  than  to  pretend  to  shake 
hands  and  then  offer  two  fingers ;  or,  offering  your  hand,  give  it  in  a 
cold,  irresponsive  way,  as  if  the  member  were  a  dead  fish  offered 
for  your  neighbor's  inspection.  A  hand  thus  conferred  should  be 
treated  a  la  dead  fish,  and  promptly  dropped.  Some  people  err  in 
the  other  extreme,  grasping  people's  hands  and  squeezing  them  as  a 
vice,  or  shaking  them  up  and  down  like  a  pump-handle.  Offer  the 
whole  hand,  freely,  with  a  frank  action,  and  moderate,  brief  pressure. 
Don't  feel  compelled  to  shake  hands  with  every  one.  If  we  are 
really  averse  to  shaking  any  person's  hand,  we  have  a  right  merely 
to  bow.  Let  me  add  here,  that  it  is  ill-bred  to  be  familiar  and  press- 
ing in  attentions.  Do  not  seat  yourself  beside  a  lady  on  a  sofa,  or 
draw  your  chair  close  to  hers,  unless  you  are  requested  to  do  so. 
When  you  offer  a  civility,  offer  it  naturally,  and  as  a  matter  of  course, 
not  as  if  you  were  yourself  overwhelmed  by  the  effort,  and  expected 


294  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

•the  recipient  likewise  to  be  overwhelmed,  and  as  if  you  anticipated 
life-long  gratitude.  Promiscuous  kissing  is  to  be  avoided.  Some 
ladies  fly  to  each  other  with  kisses  and  embraces  when  they  meet ; 
this  is  not  good  taste,  especially  in  public." 

"People  are  sometimes  embarrassed  in  speaking  to  the  children 
or  very  young  people,  where  they  visit,"  said  Peter.  "  I  go  to  a 
place  and  do  not  know  whether  I  am  to  call  a  fat  dumpling  of  a  girl 
Dolly,  or  Miss  Dolly,  or  Miss  King;  and  her  brother,  is  he  to  be 
Noll,  or  what  ?  " 

"  Until  children  are  twelve  or  thirteen,  they  may  be  called  by 
strangers  as  their  parents  call  them.  After  this  age,  the  lads  should 
be  addressed  by  strangers  as  Master  so-and-so;  as,  Master  Oliver, 
Master  Fred.  The  girls  as  Miss — Miss  Fannie,  Miss  Louise.  After 
sixteen  or  seventeen  comes  another  change  in  address :  the  lad  is 
then  Mr.  Fred,  or  Mr.  Oliver ;  and  by  the  time  he  is  twenty,  he  is 
full-fledged  Mr.  Harvey,  or  Mr.  Morris ;  while  the  young  lady  also 
gets  her  surname,  and  is  Miss  Moore,  or  Miss  Smith.  It  is  no  harm, 
and  may  get  you  into  high  repute  for  good  manners,  to  address  a 
child  as  '  my  boy,'  '  my  lad ; '  or,  '  my  little  lady,'  or,  '  my  little  miss,' 
when  you  do  not  know  their  names.  But  to  say  bubby,  or  sissy,  is 
vulgar,  and  often  offensive." 

"  When  you  make  a  bow,  what  is  proper  ?  "  asked  Henry. 

"  Lift  your  hat  to  a  lady ;  you  may  merely  touch  it  to  a  gentle- 
man acquaintance ;  but  it  is  not  enough  in  any  case  simply  to  wave 
your  hand  in  the  direction  of  your  hat.  Do  not  bow  excessively 
low  when  you  take  a  lady's  hand,  but  do  not  stand  as  stiffly  as  if 
you  were  a  victim  of  lumbago.  If  a  gentleman  gets  a  bow  from  some 
one  he  does  not  know,  he  may  and  should  return  it,  supposing  it  a 
mistake.  But  a  lady  should  here  exercise  her  discretion,  and  a 
young  lady  should  not  be  returning  bows  from  strangers.  Do  not  go 
along  the  street  bowing  to  friends  in  the  windows  ;  it  is  likely  to  occa- 
sion remarks.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  it  is  an  honest,  kindly 
custom  for  the  people  to  bow  to  any  and  every  person  that  they 
meet  riding  or  walking  along  the  road.  Where  this  custom  exists, 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE.  295 

courteously  conform  to  it ;  do  not  give  an  icy  stare,  as  if  you  set 
yourself  entirely  out  of  the  bounds  of  their  ways  and  sympathies." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Catherine,  "that  what  you  said  about  the  length 
of  calls  belongs  to  the  city  or  village,  not  to  the  country.  In  the 
country  it  is  usual  to  make  longer  calls." 

"And  very  properly  so,  because  calls  are  not  so  frequent,  and  one 
goes  longer  distances,  and  is  put  to  more  trouble  to  make  them. 
For  ceremonious  calls  in  town,  a  gentleman  retains  his  hat  and 
gloves  in  his  hand,  to  show  that  his  stay  is  to  be  brief.  And  a  lady 
of  course  removes  none  of  her  outer  wraps." 

"I  wish,"  said  Peter,  "  that  there  were  some  etiquette  to  be 
observed  in  stores,  and  when  people  are  shopping.  Folks  come  in, 
order  clerks  about  in  a  haughty  voice,  tumble  over  the  goods  in  a 
way  to  diminish  their  value;  find  fault,  sneer,  change  their  minds; 
ask  you  to  take  down  dozens  of  articles,  that  they  have  not  the 
least  idea  of  buying.  Politeness  seems  lost  out  of  the  ideas  of  most 
people  when  they  go  shopping." 

"  There  is  an  etiquette  for  the  shopping  expedition  as  well  as  for 
the  parlor,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  It  is  well  before  one  goes  to  a 
store,  to  have  resolved  how  much  they  will  pay  for  what  they 
want,  and  decide  on  the  kind  and  quantity  of  goods  needed.  Then 
they  should  not  handle  the  goods  in  the  store  as  they  would  not 
like  their  goods  to  be  handled  at  home.  Nor,  as  clerks  have  at  best 
fatiguing  work,  should  they  demand  to  see  things,  and  have  heavy 
goods  lifted  down  for  them,  when  they  do  not  mean  to  purchase 
them.  It  is  rude  to  handle  and  examine  goods  that  are  being  in- 
spected by  other  purchasers,  or  to  crowd  other  customers,  look 
scornfully  at  them,  or  in  any  way  make  them  uncomfortable.  Never 
interfere,  by  word  or  look,  with  other  customers'  purchases.  Treat 
clerks  kindly;  don't  act  as  if  you  forgot  that  they  were  human,  and 
had  rights  as  well  as  yourself.  If  a  mistake  is  made,  have  it  ex- 
plained calmly,  and  don't  act  as  if  it  were  an  unendurable,  unheard- 
of,  unprecedented  insult.  I  have  known  customers  who  fairly 
goaded  clerks  into  some  hastiness,  and  then  flew  indignantly  to  the 


296  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

proprietor  to  complain  of  it.  Or,  who  made  such  a  commotion  over 
a  mistake,  or  an  accident,  that  the  clerk  was  dismissed,  and  thereby 
losing  means  of  support  was  brought  to  misery  or  crime.  On  the 
other  hand,  this  case  occurred:  I  heard  one  lady  say  to  another — 
'  That  clerk  was  outrageously  rude,  and  if  I  had  been  in  your  place, 
I  should  report  him.'  " 

" '  My  dear/  was  the  tranquil  reply,  '  I  can  save  myself  an- 
noyance, by  never  going  there  again.  Stores  are  plenty.  If  I  re- 
ported him,  he  would  lose  his  place ;  he  is  not  the  person  soon  to 
find  another ;  he  might  be  driven  to  drink,  beggary,  theft,  suicide. 
I  should  not  sleep  quietly,  if  I  had  destroyed  any  one's  chances  of 
getting  a  living.' 

"  '  But  your  silence  encouraged  him  in  ill-manners.' 
"  '  Not  at  all.     I  took  occasion  to  say  quietly,  '  Young  man,  if  you 
are  discharged,  you  will  not  soon  get  a  place.     If  I  report  your  rude- 
ness, you  will  be  discharged,     /will  not  ruin  you,  but  study  polite- 
ness, for  the  next  customer  will  not  be  so  forbearing.' " 

"  Good  manners,"  said  Thomas, "  seem  to  come  naturally  to  some." 
"  Yes,  some  seem  born  to  the  possession  of  attractive,  easy,  gra- 
cious ways.  Many  insensibly  acquire  these  ways  from  home  sur- 
roundings. Their  opportunities  in  life  are  such  that  without  studied 
effort  they  always  behave  exactly  right.  But  good  manners,  if  not 
natural  to  all,  are  needful  to  all.  Every  one  by  watching  himself, 
studying  to  please,  and  acquainting  himself  with  the  rules  of  society, 
can  acquire  genteel  behavior.  The  longer  this  is  practised,  the 
more  unstudied  it  becomes.  Kindness  of  heart  and  common-sense 
lie  at  the  root  of  all  GOOD  MANNERS." 


CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 

ON    PROPRIETY    AND    ELEGANCE    IN    DRESS. 

'HE  young  people  were  all  in  the  Stranger's  garden. 
May  was  crowning  the  earth  with  a  rich  profusion 
of  blossoms.  Spirea,  spigelia,  hyacinths,  early  roses, 
tulips,  wisteria,  made  the  air  glittering  with  beauty 
and  redolent  with  fragrance. 

said  Violet,  "  how  nature  scorns  our  rules  of  color  and 
Long  ago  I  was  told  that  blue  and  pink  did  not  go  well 
but  look  at  this  flower :  its  buds  vary  from  crimson  to  pale 
pink,  its  unfolded  blossoms  are  blue.  Red  and  pink,  we  say,  are  not 
harmonious,  but  these  lovely  early  roses  put  forth  both  these  colors 
on  the  same  stem,  and  who  challenges  their  good  taste?  Miss 
Muloch,  in  one  of  her  works,  says,  that  her  maid  sets  the  teeth  of  the 
household  or.  edge  by  wearing  a  blue  bow  on  a  green  gown — yet, 
look  at  this  blue  hyacinth  in  its  broad  green  leaves,  and  dare  to  say 
it  is  not  beautiful." 

"  The  world  has  put  on  her  best  array,"  said  Robert;  "she  is  now 
en  masquerade,  as  Aurora,  or  Flora,  or  Hebe." 

"  Let  us  talk  of  dress  to-day,"  said  Laura.  "  It  is  a  theme  long 
reserved  for  a  fitting  occasion,  and  what  time  more  fitting  than  out 
here,  under  the  trees,  the  flowers  giving  us  not  only  hints,  but  large 
lessons  in  good  taste  ?  " 

The  Stranger  now  came  among  them,  and  seated  himself  in  ;i 
rustic  chair.  "  Of  what  do  we  talk  to-day  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Of  dress,"  said  Catherine  ;  "  nature  lends  us  her  example ;  even 
the  birds  have  on  newer  and  brighter  suits  of  feathers." 

"Ah,  dress  !  dress  !  "  cried  the  Stranger ;  "  does  not  Hannah  More 


298  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

say,  '  It  is  superfluous  to  decorate  women  so  highly  for  early  youth  ? 
Youth  is  in  itself  a  decoration.'  " 

"And  Horace  warns  us  of  beauty  in  simplicity,"  said  Henry. 

"  But  this  very  simplicity  is  in  itself  a  fine  art,"  said  Violet. 

"And  we  shall  not  always  be  young,"  added  Laura. 

"We  must  discuss  dress,"  said  Dora,  "because  we  are  liable  to 
make  many  mistakes  about  dress." 

"Does  not  Victor  Hugo  tell  us  of  the  pretty  young  girl,  who, 
having  plenty  of  money  and  no  one  to  advise  her,  got  herself  up  in 
a  black  brocade  dress  and  mantle,  and  looked  so  oddly :  her  childish 
face  and  form  being  set  off  in  an  elderly  woman's  clothes?"  said 
Catherine. 

"I  am  sure  she  looked  like  a  perfect  darling,"  said  Robert:  "her 
mistake  was  quaint;  but  listen  to  a  mistake  of  another  style.  Only 
yesterday  I  was  in  town,  and  waiting  in  the  carriage  before  a  store, 
I  saw  a  maid  who  had  come  to  town  with  her  beau.  Her  dress  was 
so  extraordinary  that  I  took  notes  of  it  in  my  memorandum-book, 
and  you  are  not  to  think  one  item  of  this  description  imaginary : 

"'A  PORTRAIT. 

She  was  a  tall  girl  of  thirty  odd.  She  wore  a  pink  muslin  dress 
with  red  ruffles.  Her  feet  were  in  very  thin  and  low  No.  6l/< 
slippers,  aad  the  pavement  whereon  she  stood  was  wet  with  a  recent 
shower,  which  had  made  her  gown  limp  and  draggled :  for  this  gown 
had  a  train.  Her  stockings  were  in  wide  blue  stripes  :  she  held  up 
her  gown  to  show  them.  She  wore  no  gloves,  but  her  neck  and 
wrists  gloried  in  frills  of  wide  cotton  lace,  and  at  her  throat  was  a 
broad  green  silk  tie.  Her  straw  hat  was  lined  with  dark  blue  silk, 
and  had  a  white  wreath  finished  in  a  bunch  of  red  and  pink  roses.' " 

"We  learn  from  contrary  things,"  quoth  the  Stranger. 

"  Let  me  describe  a  pair  of  travellers  with  whom  I  rode  half  a 
day  in  the  cars,"  said  Violet.  "  First  came  in  a  large  young  woman, 
her  hair  much  frizzed :  she  wore  a  dress  of  very  thin,  cheap  '  spring 
goods,'  trimmed  extensively  with  a  slazy  silk.  Several  buttons  were 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  299 

missing  from  her  shoes.  She  had  bright  yellow  and  much-soiled 
one-button  kid  gloves.  On  each  wrist  was  a  large  bracelet:  some 
imitation  of  gold.  Her  wrists,  and  indeed  all  of  her  skin  that  was 
visible,  was  uncleanly,  as  if  soap  and  warm  water  were  luxuries  un- 
known. She  had  cotton  lace  frills,  a  pair  of  huge  ear-rings,  a  chain 
nearly  as  thick  as  my  finger  hanging  about  her  neck,  and  swinging 
upon  this  a  large  oval  locket.  A  wide  crumpled  cottony  ribbon 
was  tied  about  her  waist.  Her  hat  was  a  fancy  straw,  with  a  long 
blue  plume,  a  cluster  of  pink  and  yellow  cheap  flowers,  and  a  white 
tissue  veil.  Her  kerchief  was  lavishly  embroidered,  and  possibly 
cost  twenty-five  cents.  She  invested  in  a  '  fashion  magazine,' 
and  began  diligently  to  study  the  plates.  The  car  was  pretty  full, 
and  a  lady  coming  in  sat  down  by  this  dashingly  arrayed  damsel. 
The  lady  was  such  a  contrast  that  I  noticed  her  clothing  also.  She 
wore  a  dress  and  jacket  of  heavy  dark  gray  cloth,  with  black  velvet 
collar  and  cuffs.  Her  hat  was  black  velvet,  with  a  cluster  of  cream- 
colored  flowers,  and  her  neck-tie  was  of  cream-colored  silk.  Her 
gloves  were  of  silk  to  match  the  color  of  her  dress,  and  her  kerchief 
was  fine  linen  hemstitched.  One  could  not  see  a  particle  of  jewelry, 
unless  you  call  by  that  name  a  short,  thick,  black  chain,  that  went 
from  her  watch-pocket  to  the  nearest  button-hole.  However,  she 
was  obliged  to  remove  her  glove  for  a  moment,  and  I  saw  that  she 
wore  a  ring  that  would  have  bought  her  seat-mate's  entire  outfit  ten 
times  over.  There  was  no  reason  why  this  girl,  with  no  more 
expense  than  she  had  laid  out,  should  not  have  been  dressed  in  as 
severe  good  style  as  the  lady :  only  the  girl  lacked  taste  and  common- 
sense,  and  the  lady  had  both." 

"Well,"  said  Dora,  turning  to  the  Stranger,  "  as  we  can  make 
ourselves  so  absurd  by  our  dress,  do  you  not  think  that  we  had 
better  discuss  the  matter  and  arrive  at  some  laws  that  shall  guide 
us?" 

"  I  will  now  propose  to  you  some  rules,"  said  the  Stranger,  "which 
will  no  doubt  be  of  service.  The  First  is  one  that  belongs  to 
rhetoric,  and  which  Pope  announces,  in  his  essay  on  Criticism,  that  is 


300  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"  'Alike  fantastic,  if  too  new  or  old. 

Be  not  the  first  by  whom  the  new  are  tried, 
Nor  yet  the  last  to  lay  the  old  aside.' 

But  remember  at  the  same  time  that  there  are  some  extravagances 
in  dress  which  should  never  be  followed,  no  matter  how  popular 
they  may,  for  a  period,  become. 

"Second. — If  you  cannot  buy  often,  never  buy  the  showy,  for  this 
the  soonest  becomes  obsolete  and  goes  out  of  fashion. 

"  Third. — Let  the  dress  suit  the  wearer.  Do  not  consider  first  what 
other  people  are  wearing,  but  what  you  can  wear  yourself.  Thus, 
plaids  may  be  '  all  the  rage/  and  you  may  be  a  person  who  looks 
badly  in  plaid. 

"Fourth. — Avoid  the  highly  ornamental  in  dress.  There  is  a  wide 
difference  between  what  is  rich  and  elegant,  and  that  which  we  style 
the  '  loud  '  or '  flashy.'  Addison  says  :  '  Lace,  ribbons,  silver  and  gold 
galoons,  with  the  like  glittering  gewgaws,  are  so  many  lures  to 
women  of  weak  minds  and  low  educations.'  Now  both  lace  and 
ribbons  are  excellent  ornaments  of  dress,  and  the  toilette  of  a  young 
person  who  uses  neither  is  deficient ;  but  there  is  a  wide  difference 
between  use  and  over-loading,  and  especially  in  street  dress.  Over 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  it  was  written :  'The  young  people 
of  both  sexes  are  so  wonderfully  apt  to  shoot  out  into  long  swords, 
or  sweeping  trains,  bushy  head-dresses,  or  full-bottomed  periwigs, 
with  several  other  incumbrances  of  dress,  that  they  stand  in  need  of 
being  pruned  very  frequently,  lest  they  should  be  oppressed  with 
ornament,  and  over-run  with  the  luxuriance  of  their  habits.  I  am 
much  in  doubt,  whether  I  should  give  the  preference  to  a  Quaker, 
that  is  trimmed  close,  and  almost  cut  to  the  quick,  or  to  a  beau,  that 
is  loaded  with  a  redundance  of  excrescences.'  " 

"  Have  you  given  us  all  your  rules  for  our  dress?"  said  Harriet. 

"At  present,  I  will  only  add  one  more.  Fifth. — Let  your  dress  suit 
the  occasion  on  which  it  is  worn.  You  would  not  go  in  the  same 
dress  to  a  funeral  or  a  wedding,  to  a  picnic  or  a  party.  The  same 
dress  is  not  suitable  to  early  fall  and  mid-winter — to  a  stormy  and 
sunny  day." 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  301 

"  The  first  thing  in  a  dress,"  said  Harriet,  "  is  to  buy  it.  Now  when 
we  purchase  any  article  of  apparel,  what  must  we  first  consider  ?  " 

"  There  seem  to  be  many  points  of  equal  importance.  There  are 
said  to  be  three  grand  unities  of  dress,  which  every  woman  must 
know :  first,  her  own  age  ;  second,  her  own  station ;  and  third,  her 
own  physical  style.  When  you  buy  your  clothing,  you  must  not 
only  consider  these  three  points,  but  you  must  consider  how  much 
money  you  have  to  lay  out;  and  how  much  you  intend  to  wear  the 
article  which  you  buy.  Suppose  you  are  buying  a  bonnet.  The 
shape  and  shade  must  suit  your  features  and  complexion  :  the  ma- 
terial must  be  governed  by  the  price  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  pay. 
Feathers  and  flowers  never  look  well  if  they  are  cheap;  neither  do 
they  wear  well.  Get  the  article  good  of  its  kind.  If  you  cannot  pay 
for  real  feathers,  and  for  best  quality  flowers,  then  let  your  trim- 
mings be  silk,  or  something  that  you  can  buy  of  best  quality.  Nor 
is  this  all :  a  white,  cream-colored,  pale  blue,  or  pale  pink  hat,  might 
suit  your  age,  your  station,  your  appearance,  your  purse.  Why  not 
get  it  ?  Stay — how  much  do  you  mean  to  wear  it  ?  If  this  is  to  be 
yoi  only  bonnet  for  the  season,  you  must  consider  that  so  much  wear 
will  be  incompatible  with  so  delicate  a  fabric — it  will  look  dingy 
and  shabby  long  before  the  season  is  over.  This  hat,  too,  would 
look  very  nicely  for  calls,  but  how  would  it  look  on  stormy  Sun- 
days ?  It  is  just  the  hat  for  your  face,  but  how  does  it  comport 
with  your  gowns?  If  your  dress  would  not  look  well  with  this 
dainty  hat,  let  your  choice  be  of  one  more  suitable  to  your  needs. 
Now  such  a  train  of  common-sense  reasoning  may  apply  to  all  your 
purchases.  Suppose  you  are  getting  a  silk,  and  can  have  but  one 
in  a  year.  If  you  get  one  of  these  pretty  summer  silks,  it  will  be 
very  becoming,  and  you  will  have  some  money  over  for  scarfs,  a  lace 
jacket,  or  some  fancy  article.  But,  think,  you  will  be  unable  during 
fully  half  the  year  to  put  on  this  dress.  What  will  you  do  for  a  silk 
dress  when  you  need  one  in  the  fall  or  winter  ?  It  would  be  better 
then  to  get  a  silk  suitable  to  all  seasons ;  one  that  you  could  wear  to 
church,  or  social  gatherings." 


302  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Suppose  one  cannot  have  a  variety  of  dresses  for  wearing  when 
we  go  into  company — then  if  our  stock  of  gowns  is  to  be  very  lim- 
ited, what  material  will  be  the  most  useful  ?  of  what  shall  we  be  least 
tired  ?  "  asked  Dora. 

"  No  two  dresses  are  capable  of  being  so  endlessly  changed  and 
varied,  as  a  black  silk,  and  a  white  Swiss;  -if  you  are  young  enough 
to  wear  the  one,  and  old  enough  to  wear  the  other." 

"  I  suppose  that  would  mean  anywhere  between  fifteen  and  thirty," 
said  Catherine,  laughing.  "And  indeed  it  is  true,  that  these  two 
dresses  are  capable  of  more  combinations  than  any  others.  A  white 
Swiss  becomes  a  new  dress  with  a  change  of  trimming,  according  as 
it  is  worn  with  flowers  or  ribbons.  A  sleeveless  jacket  of  lace,  in- 
sertion, and  puffs,  makes  the  Swiss  a  new  garment,  or  revolutionizes 
the  black  silk.  The  black  silk,  for  its  part,  can  be  entirely  changed 
in  appearance,  by  the  use  of  lace  or  muslin  in  fichus,  capes,  evening 
waists,  and  so  on.  While  a  velvet  vest,  basque  or  collar,  with  other 
suitable  velvet  trimmings,  will  change  it  again.  My  aunt  tells  me 
that  a  large  variety  of  little  accessories  of  dress  gives  one  a  greater 
opportunity  of  change,  than  merely  having  a  number  of  dresses. 
Certainly  these  things  admit  a  greater  display  of  taste." 

"Well,  what  about  colors — what  colors  shall  we  wear?  "asked 
Violet. 

"  In  the  choice  of  colors  you  must  be  laws  unto  yourselves.  Wear 
those  that  become  you.  Take  care  and  not  be  gaudy,  and  yet  do 
not  be  afraid  of  striking  contrasts.  Remember  that  the  colors  and 
styles  that  look  well  in  the  house  do  not  always  fit  street  wear.  It 
is  a  token  of  lack  of  good  judgment  in  dress  to  wear  that  on  the 
street  which  will  be  conspicuous  at  a  great  distance.  Thus  a  large 
stripe,  plaid,  or  check,  is  not  fit  for  the  street.  It  makes  one  look,  at 
a  distance,  like  a  harlequin,  a  walking  advertisement,  or  an  escaped 
convict.  At  the  same  time,  you  are  not  to  deprive  the  promenade 
of  all  fine  points  of  color.  Public  places  would  be  far  less  attractive 
than  they  are  if  no  one  dared  venture  out  except  in  brown,  black, 
or  gray.  Touches  of  crimson,  orange,  cardinal,  blue,  light  up  the 
outer  scene." 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  303 

"After  all,"  said  Viol-t,  "you  may  have  the  right  things  to  wear, 
and  be  little  benefited  by  it,  if  you  do  not  put  them  on  at  the  right 
time.  Some  people  crowd  on  all  the  finest  that  they  have  for  every 
occasion.  They  go  in  full  dress  to  a  little  tea-party,  or  so  over- 
dressed to  church  that  they  excite  the  wonder  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation." 

"  For  the  small  social  gathering  of  from  eight  to  twelve,  in  summer 
time,  a  lawn,  a  fine  cambric,  or  a  summer  silk,  is  suitable ;  or  some 
of  the  many-changing  fabrics  that  each  new  season  seems  now  to 
produce  as  regularly  as  its  flowers  or  fruits.  In  winter,  a  fine  cash- 
mere of  some  handsome  shade ;  a  silk  of  brown,  blue,  plum,  or  wine 
color,  or  one  of  the  late  styles  of  winter  cloths,  will  be  appropriate. 
Be  always,  as  say  the  French,  well  gloved  and  well  booted,  and  have 
your  neck  tastefully  ornamented,  and  your  hair  well  arranged,  and 
you  will  always  be  suitably  dressed." 

"O  this  dressing  of  the  hair!"  cried  Laura ;"  the  hair  and  the 
bonnet  are  such  troublesome  questions.  Fashion  ordains  one  thing, 
and  then  critics  cry  out:  'O  absurd !  this  is  senseless:  it  is  inartistic!' 
Fashion  prescribes  a  huge  waterfall,  and  then  there  is  a  chorus : 
1  What  ancient  artist  ever  depicted  beauty  in  a  waterfall  !  Propor- 
tion is  lost ;  harmony  is  forgotten,'  and  the  doctor  chimes  in  about 
spinal  disease  and  brain  troubles.  '  Bangs,'  says  Fashion.  '  Bangs  ! ' 
cries  the  critic: 'they  originated  with  the  Esquimaux;  they  make 
girls  look  like  monkeys.  They  destroy  the  noblest  feature  of  the 
face ! '  '  Frizzes,'  says  Fashion,  and  the  ministers  wake  up  about 
broidered  hair ;  and  here  some  one  declares  that  frizzing  destroys 
the  hair,  which  Scripture  calls  woman's  glory;  and  another  one  vows 
that  a  well-frizzed  head  is  a  token  of  vanity,  and  of  weak-mindedness. 
What  are  we  to  do  with  our  heads  !  " 

"  Let  me  read  you  what  the  Spectator  says,  apropos  of  hats  and 
hair  and  heads,"  said  the  Stranger:  "  'I  am  not  for  adding  to  the 
beautiful  edifice  of  nature,  nor  for  raising  any  whimsical  superstruc- 
ture upon  her  plans.  One  may  observe  that  women  in  all  ages  have 
taken  more  pains  than  men  to  adorn  the  outside  of  their  heads ;  and, 


304  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

indeed,  I  very  much  admire,  that  those  female  architects  who  raise 
such  wonderful  structures  out  of  ribbons,  lace,  and  wire,  have  not 
been  recorded  for  their  special  inventions.  But  I  do  not  remember 
in  any  part  of  my  reading,  that  the  head-dress  aspired  to  so  great 
extravagance  as  in  the  fourteenth  century,  when  it  was  built  up  in  a 
couple  of  cones,  or  spires,  which  stood  so  excessively  high  on  each 
side  of 'the  head,  that  a  woman  who  was  but  a  pigmy  without  her. 
head-dress,  appeared  a  Colossus  when  putting  it  on.  Monsieur 
Paradin  says,  that  these  old-fashioned  fotitanges  rose  an  ell  above  the 
head ;  that  they  were  pointed  like  steeples,  and  had  long,  loose 
pieces  of  crape  fastened  to  the  tops  of  them,  which  were  curiously 
fringed,  and  hung  down  like  streamers.  I  would  desire  the  fair  sex 
to  consider  how  impossible  it  is  for  them  to  add  anything  that  can 
be  ornamental  to  what  is  already  the  masterpiece  of  nature.  The  head 
has  the  most  beautiful  appearance,  as  well  as  the  highest  station,  in 
the  human  figure.  Nature  has  laid  out  all  her  art  in  beautifying  the 
face ;  she  has  touched  it  with  vermilion,  planted  it  with  a  double 
row  of  ivory,  made  it  the  seat  of  smiles  and  blushes,  lighted  it  up 
and  enlivened  it  with  the  brightness  of  the  eyes,  hung  it  on  each 
side  with  curious  organs  of  sense,  and  surrounded  it  with  such  flow- 
ing shade  of  hair  as  sets  all  its  beauties  in  the  most  agreeable  light ; 
in  short,  she  seems  to  have  designed  the  head  as  the  cupola  of  the 
most  glorious  of  her  works ;  and  when  we  load  it  with  such  a  pile 
of  supernumerary  ornaments,  we  destroy  the  symmetry  of  the  human 
figure,  and  foolishly  contrive  to  call  off  the  eye  from  great  and 
real  beauties  to  childish  gew-gaws  of  ribbons  and  bone  lace.'  Now 
this  is  a  long  quotation,  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  complete  answer 
to  questions  as  to  how  wre  shall  decorate  the  head.  Let  it  be 
as  nearly  as  we  can  as  Nature  ordained  it.  A  flower,  a  rib- 
'oon,  may  set  off  the  complexion,  and  the  shade  of  the  hair.  A 
puff,  braid,  or  curl,  judiciously  arranged,  shows  its  silken  lustre, 
but  in  this  ornamenting  we  must  be  extremely  judicious  lest  we 
over-do." 

"  I  remember,"  said  John    Frederick,  "  that    Horace   bids    Lyde 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  305 

come  to  his  feast  'bringing  her  lyre,  and  having  her  hair  bound 
up  in  a  simple  knot.'  This  Greek  knot  has  always  been  admired 
by  artists.  When  the  hair  is  drawn  back  loosely  from  the  brows, 
and  knotted  low  at  the  back  of  the  head,  the  contour  of  the  head 
is  best  displayed." 

"But,"  said  Dora,  "some  people  have  too  lumpy  foreheads,  and 
too  prominent  eyes  to  stand  this  style  of  hair-dressing ;  they  look 
staring,  or  choked."  «:  •> 

"Then,"  said  Catherine,  "they  must  regard  the  way  that  they  are 
made,  and  comb  their  hair  as  best  becomes  them." 

"O  this  word  become!"  cried  Harriet,"!  tell  you,  Catherine,  it 
takes  a  deal  of  sense  for  a  woman  to  realize  what  does  become  her. 
People  make  many  mistakes  here.  I  have  seen  a  girl  with  a  round 
rosy  face  get  on  a  bright  pink  dress — and  she  looked  like  a  great 
poppy — and  supposed  that  she  showed  good  taste  !  " 

"Silly  thing!  "  cried-  Catherine;  "why  did  she  not  wear  white,  or 
pale  gray,  or  a  light  brown,  or  a  proper  blue  ?" 

"  Simply  because  she  did  not  know  enough,"  said  Harriet.  "A 
friend  of  mine  had  a  little  girl  with  a  dark  skin,  and  very  red  cheeks 
and  lips,  and  she  got  her  a  red  velvet  hat ;  and  the  creature  looked 
as  if  she  were  on  fire !  " 

"  Black  and  white  become  nearly  all  people.  A  pale  person 
should  not  wear  greeti ;  but  a  rosy  person  will  find  green  becoming. 
No  dress  should  be  made  of  a  bright  pea-green,  rose  pink,  or  canary 
color,  unless  of  tarlatan,  or  some  very  thin  substance  freely  relieved 
with  white,  for  evening  wear.  So  a  very  bright  blue  or  purple  is  too 
gaudy  for  a  dress.  Tall  people  can  wear  plaids,  and  stout  people 
look  well  in  stripes.  A  very  small  person  should  wear  neither.  If 
you  are  tall  and  thin,  you  will  seem  better  proportioned  if  you  wear 
a  plaid.  If  you  are  short  and  fat,  you  will  appear  less  clumsy  in  a 
stripe.  Large-flowered  patterns  are  not  in  good  taste,  except  in 
cambrics  or  lawns,  for  morning  or  h'ome  wear.  A  dark  person  looks 
well  in  corn  color,  cream  color,  or  maize.  If  there  is  not  too  much 
red  in  their  faces  they  can  wear  cardinal.  The  complexion  must  be 


306  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

very  clear  to  stand  garnet,  wine,  or  maroon.  A  dark  person  can 
wear  navy  blue  or  very  dark  green,  and  a  fair  person  with  fair  hair 
looks  well  in  navy  blue  also,  and  in  deep-ripe  plum  color.  A 
blonde  with  pink  cheeks  looks  very  prettily  in  blue  of  a  delicate 
shade.  If  she  is  pale,  and  wants  to  wear  light  blue,  she  must  assist 
the  color  by  using  pale  rose-pink  flowers  or  ribbons." 

"Fair  people/' said  Dora,  "  look  very  well  in  gray,  lavender,  or 
stone  color,  if  it  is  relieved  with  lace,  and  with  blue  or  pink  flowers, 
or  ribbons.  Dark  blue  and  old  gold  go  well  together ;  black  is  best 
set  off  with  gold,  cream,  cardinal,  or  rose  pink ;  dark  green  har- 
monizes with  cardinal  and  old  gold  ;  navy  blue  and  cardinal  also 
accord  well." 

"  Purple  is  a  very  trying  shade  to  most  complexions,"  said  Harriet, 
"  and  there  are  few  colors  that  look  well  with  it.  If  it  is  very  dark 
purple,  a  very  pale  shade  of  pink  aids  it;  and  white  is  also  relieving 
to  it;  gold,  scarlet,  or  maize  may  also  be  used." 

"  Does  color  alter  apparent  size  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  Yes.  Black  and  very  dark  colors  make  one  appear  smaller, 
while  white  and  light  colors  increase  apparent  size.  Thus,  an  over- 
grown person  will  look  much  smaller  in  a  close-fitted  black  dress, 
and  a  large,  loosely-built  person  should  never  flourish  about  in  a 
flowing  dress  of  light  hue  and  thin  material  much  trimmed.  Ar- 
rayed in  this  way  the  large  person  looks  slovenly  and  ill  propor- 
tioned, the  small  person  tasteful.  A  small  woman,  when  she  puts  on 
a  close-fitted,  austerely-made,  black  cloth,  silk,  or  velvet,  may  look 
dwarfed  and  ill  developed." 

"And  how  about  colors  and  seasons  ?  "  said  Thomas. 

"Very  light  colors  look  cold  in  winter:  they  afford  also  too  little 
contrast  with  the  fogs,  gray  skies,  snows,  and  leaflessness  of 
the  season.  In  winter  we  want  dark,  brilliant  shades,  as  cardinal, 
crimson,  dark  brown,  black  relieved  by  high  colors,  orange,  navy 
blue,  dark  green,  plum,  and  so  on.  But  in  summer  the  skies  are 
brilliant,  the  atmosphere  glows  with  heat,  sunshine  scintillates,  the 
flowers  are  out  in  all  vivid  tints,  and  we  desire  that  the  shades  of  the 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  307 

dress  should  relieve  the  eye  in  the  general  heat  and  glare.  Now 
gray,  white,  light  blue  and  pink,  lavender  and  pale  brown  are  the 
shades  for  summer.  In  spring  use  green,  blue,  light  brown,  gray ; 
in  autumn,  darker  brown,  wine,  purple,  maroon,  orange." 

"  Nature  has  favorite  colors  for  certain  seasons,"  said  Thomas. 

"Though  each  season  gives  us  a  variety  in  flowers  of  all  tints, 
each  part  of  the  year  has  its  prevailing  hue.  Thus,  spring  produces 
more  blue  flowers;  summer,  more  red  and  pink  flowers;  autumn, 
yellow,  orange,  and  scarlet  flowers :  while  the  berries,  pods,  and  so 
on,  that  last  into  the  winter  are  red,  as  the  sumac,  holly,  and  bitter- 
sweet, and  the  seed-pods  of  the  rose  and  honeysuckle." 

"If  we  purchase  by  daylight  shades  for  evening  wear,  are  we  not 
likely  to  be  disappointed  in  them  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  Yes,  because  artificial  light  changes  the  apparent  hue.  If  you 
are  buying  for  evening  wear,  examine  the  goods  by  gas  or  lamp 
light" 

"  Taine,  an  astute  French  author,  condemns  somewhat  unsparingly 
Saxon  taste  in  dress,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  If  you,  Peter,  will  bring 
me  from  my  library  Taine's  England  and  Taine's  Paris,  I  will  read 
to  you  a  few  valuable  hints." 

Peter  presently  returned  with  the  England,  but  said  the  Paris  was 
not  to  be  found. 

"  Never  mind  it,"  quoth  the  Stranger,  "  it  is  a  book  without  a  soul 
until  the  last  chapter.  Now  listen  while  I  read  to  you  from  the 
England.  Remember  that  the  author  is  a  man  of  learning  and  of 
exquisite  taste,  accustomed  to  the  best  society  in  Europe,  and  his 
words  can  come  to  you  with  authority.  He  says  of  English  dress 
that  which  maybe  applied  here.  'The  too  ornate  and  badly  ad- 
justed dress  completes  these  disparities.  It  consists  of  violet  or 
dark  crimson  silks,  of  grass-green,  flowered  gowns,  blue  sashes, 
jewelry :  the  whole  used  sometimes  to  caparison  gigantic  figures. 
...  In  Hyde  Park,  on  Sunday,  the  exaggeration  of  the  dresses  of 
the  young  girls  belonging  to  the  wealthy  middle  classes  is  offensive : 
bonnets  resembling  piled  up  bunches  of  rhododendrons,  or,  as  white 


308  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

as  snow,  of  extraordinary  smallness,  with  packets  of  red  flowers  or 
enormous  ribbons.  Gowns  of  shining  violet  silk  -with  dazzling  re- 
flections, or  of  stiff  tulle  upon  an  expanse  of  petticoats  heavy  with 
embroidery.  Immense  shawls  of  black  lace  descending  to  the  heels; 
gloves  of  immaculate  whiteness,  or  bright  violet ;  gold  chains,  gold 
zones  with  golden  clasps,  hair  flowing  over  the  neck  in  shining 
masses.  The  glare  is  terrible.  They  seem  to  have  stepped  out  of 
a  wardrobe,  and  to  march  past  to  advertize  a  magazine  of  novelties. 
They  do  not  even  know  how  to  show  off  their  dresses.  The  crino- 
line is  like  a  tub  at  bottom,  the  cloaks  are  tucked  up  in  clumsy  pre- 
tentious puffs.  Thus  bulged  out  they  walk  along  rustling  their 
dresses,  which  follow  and  precede  them,  like  the  ticking  of  a  clock. 
Compared  with  the  supple,  easy,  silent,  serpentine  undulation  of  the 
Spanish  dress  and  bearing,  the  movement  here  is  gigantic,  energetic, 
discordant.  Two  exceptions  are,  the  riding-dress — the  black  habit 
which  neatly  fits  the  shape,  devoid  of  ornament,  simple,  and  exhib- 
iting the  strength,  hardihood,  and  physical  health :  the  other  is  the 
travelling-dress :  the  little  straw  hat  with  a  single  ribbon,  a  plain 
gown,  the  small  boots  of  solid  leather,  everything  showing  the  good 
walker,  without  a  trace  of  coquetry,  capable  of  being  a  man's  real 
companion,  and  not  a  troublesome  doll.  On  the  other  hand,  I  sat  by 
a  young  lady  at  a  dinner:  she  wore  a  rose-colored  dress,  a  wreath 
of  red  flowers,  green  trimmings,  and  a  golden  necklace  around  her 
throat.  They  rarely  have  a  feeling  for  colors.'  I  read  you  these 
long  extracts  because  you  tell  me  that  you  desire  to  know  how  to 
dress  well,  and  I  think  that  nothing  better  can  be  said  on  the  subject 
than  this  by  Taine.  Ponder  these  passages  carefully  and  you  will 
know  how  to  dress." 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  know  what  style  of  dress  did  please  this 
critic's  taste,"  said  Violet 

"  I  sent  for  the  Paris  to  inform  you  ;  as  it  is  missing,  I  will  quote 
from  memory.  He  describes  a  lady  whom,  at  an  evening  party,  he 
saw  standing  near  a  white  marble  mantel.  She  was  thirty,  somewhat 
tall;  her  hands  were  clasped  before  her;  her  hair  was  dark  and 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  309 

lustrous,  and  was  plainly  wrapped  about  her  head,  with  a  small  orna- 
ment of  pearls  on  the  left  side.  Her  dress  was  high  in  the  throat, 
ancl  long  to  the  wrists,  closely  fitted  her  form,  and  had  a  short  train  ; 
it  had  no  trimming,  and  being  of  black  velvet,  needed  none.  At 
throat  and  wrLts  were  ruffles  of  white  lace,  and  her  only  jewelry  was 
a  string  of  pearls  closely  clasped  about  the  neck  of  her  dress. 
Another  lady  wore  a  dress  of  rich  black  silk,  trimmed  with  lace, 
and  her  only  ornament  was  a  thick  gold  chain  worn  as  a  necklace. 
He  says  gold  should  only  be  worn  with  black." 

"  Well,  sir,  you  have  travelled  in  many  lands.  Where  is  the  dress 
most  showy  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  The  wealthy  people  of  all  countries  now  dress  pretty  much  in  the 
same  style ;  Paris  sets  the  fashions,  and  people  apply  them  well 
or  ill,  as  they  have  good  or  bad  taste.  The  peasant  gala  dress  of  the 
Pays-Bas,  or  low  countries,  of  the  Swiss  mountains,  and  of  Italy, 
exceed  probably  all  other  lands  in  brilliancy  of  coloring  and  in  fan- 
tastic beauty." 

"And  what  dresses  did  you  most  admire,  sir?"  asked  Dora. 

"  I  think  no  dress  is  as  exquisite  in  grace  and  harmony  as  that  of 
the  Spanish  lady.  She  moves  a  gracious  shadow  across  the  broad 
sunshine  of  her  southern  land.  Her  dress  falls  in  soft  graceful  folds. 
Her  dark  hair  is  wrapped  high  on  her  head,  and  fastened  with  a 
broad  comb.  Over  this  comb  is  draped  her  black  lace  mantilla,  the 
delicate  fabric  well  setting  off  the  jetty  eyes  and  olive  skin.  If  she 
is  in  gala  dress,  the  crimson  blossom  of  the  pomegranate  lies  against 
the  darkness  of  her  hair,  and  a  similar  blossom  shines  at  her  throat ; 
her  white  hand,  in  a  netted  mitt,  holds  her  mantilla  in  graceful  folds. 
Where  she  does  not  wear  a  pomegranate  blossom,  she  will  take  in- 
stead a  snow-white  camelia.  Next  to  the  Spanish  lady  stands  the 
Genoese." 

"  O,  how  is  she  dressed?"  cried  Violet. 

"  The  dress  for  various  ages  is  the  same,  only  the  older  ladies 
wear  graver  colored  or  black  gowns.  In  the  street,  the  young  ladies 
from  sixteen  to  twenty-two  or  thereabouts  wear  colored  dresses  of 


310  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

silk,  or  fine  wool  goods.  The  waist  is  round,  high  in  the  neck,  the 
sleeves  long  and  straight,  the  skirt  plain  and  clears  the  ground. 
Her  hair  is  prettily  arranged.  She  has  a  knot  of  ribbons  or  flowers 
on  her  breast.  Now  over  all  this  is  flung  a  mantle  of  the  finest, 
sheerest  white  Swiss,  or  Organdie  mull.  This  mantle  has  a  wide  hem 
all  around,  and  is  a  perfectly  square  piece  of  goods,  so  large  that  being 
put  over  the  head  it  falls  almost  to  the  ground  over  the  whole  figure. 
The  centre  of  one  side  of  the  mull  is  drawn  on  the  head  so  that  it 
will  fall  in  little  folds  about  the  forehead :  these  folds  are  fastened 
by  two  small  pins  of  Genoa  silver  filigree,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
head;  the  right  hand  corner  of  the  mull  is  then  laid  over  the  left 
shoulder  and  fastened ;  and  the  left  side  of  the  mantle  flung  easily 
toward  the  right  side  of  the  person.  In  this  diaphanous  drapery  the 
fair  Genoese  moves  along  the  narrow,  high-walled  streets  of  her 
city,  and  '  makes  a  sunshine  in  a  shady  place.'" 

"Ah,"  sighed  Violet,  "  how  I  wish  I  could  dress  so  charmingly ! " 

"I  think  American  ladies  look  quite  as  well,  indeed  far  better, 
when  they  have  taste,  as  most  of  them  have,"  said  the  gallant  John 
Frederick. 

"  What  Taine  says  of  draperies  applies  to  the  hoop-days"  said 
Dora. 

"  But  absurdities  belong  equally  to  the  pin-back  days,"  said  Cath- 
erine. "  I  was  at  my  aunt's  when  a  young  lady  called,  and  being 
asked  to  take  a  seat,  she  coolly  replied  'that  she  had  on  a  walking- 
dress,  and  it  was  not  so  made  that  she  could  sit  down  in  it.'  Now 
what  common-sense  is  there  in  making  such  a  mummy-wrapping 
dress  as  that  ?  Another  time,  I  was  in  a  photographer's,  and  a  young 
lady  coming  in  to  have  her  picture  taken,  I  removed  my  shawl  from 
a  chair,  and  offered  her  a  seat.  She  simpered  out — '  Thank  you, 
but  this  is  my  party  dress,  and  if  I  sat  down  in  it,  it  would  spoil  the 
trimmings.' " 

"  Tell  us  what  style  of  dress  should  we  wear  to  a  picnic?"  cried 
Harriet.  "  I  have  seen  every  sort  of  dress  out  in  the  woods,  from 
white  tarlatan  to  black  alpaca.  Of  course  something  must  be  right, 
and  something  wrong." 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  311 

*'  For  a  picnic,  or  any  rustic  entertainment,  one  should  wear  a 
dress  that  will  wash,  or  clean  easily ;  will  not  tear  readily,  and  will 
not  droop  and  fade  under  a  little  dampness.  A  thin  Swiss,  or  a  fur- 
belowed  silk,  will  look  out  of  place  at  a  picnic,  and  will  soon  meet 
with  some  misadventure,  that  will  render  the  wearer  uncomfortable 
and  untidy.  A  well-made  linen  dress,  a  cambric,  and  a  linen  lawn, 
suit  woodland  parties;  so  do  dresses  made  of  fine  gray  all-wool  goods. 
For  boating  parties  nothing  is  nicer  than  a  short  dress  of  navy  blue 
flannel,  trimmed  with  heavy  white  braid.  For  a  driving  party,  wear  a 
dress  that  will  not  crush,  nor  be  affected  by  a  sprinkle  or  a  dew-fall." 
"Place  anx  dames!"  cried  Thomas;  "which  being  interpreted 
means — ladies  first.  But  we  gentlemen  want  some  hints  about  what 
to  wear,  and  hitherto  all  the  discussion  has  been  about  ladies'  clothes. 
Our  turn  has  come !  " 

"  Tis  easy  enough  to  instruct  you"  quoth  Violet.  "  How  few 
questions  arise  about  your  garments  !  Listen  to  my  admonitions : 
imprimis — always  wear  a  good  hat !  " 

"  Even  though,  like  the  cherub  R.  Wilfer's,  it  roofs  in  a  ruin ! " 
said  Thomas. 

"  Do  not  interrupt  the  court  in  its  charge,"  said  Violet ;  "  item — 
let  your  collars,  cuffs,  kerchiefs,  and  linen  generally,  be  fine,  white, 
clean,  stiff,  unfrayed  at  the  edges — " 

"  By  grace  of  laundress,  or  the  mothers,  sisters,  wives,  who  rule 
at  home,"  interposed  Thomas. 

"  Do  not  be  reflecting,  as  did  Adam,  on  '  the  woman  whom  thou 
gavest  me,' "  said  Violet.  "  Resolve  to  be  neat,  and  you  will  be 
neat ;  you  can,  in  the  interest  of  neatness,  make  a  desolation  and 
proclaim  it  peace.  Item — let  your  clothes  always  be  well  brushed 
and  smooth  and  clean  ;  have  no  spots  or  stains  or  white  seams." 
"  To  hear  is  to  obey,"  quoth  Thomas. 

"  When  it  is  in  order  to  wear  gloves,  as  it  generally  is,  let  them 
be  of  plain  dark  color,  without  rips  or  soiled  knuckles.  We  have  now 
arrived  at  the  basis  of  your  affairs ;  have  your  boots  and  shoes  well 
polished  and  straight  in  the  heel — " 


312  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Add,  too,"  said  the  incorrigible  Thomas,  "  that  they  should  be 
small.  Who  likes  to  see  a  large  foot  ?  " 

"  Or  who  likes  to  see  a  foot  pinched  in  too  small  a  boot  ?  It  gives 
a  hobbling  gait  that  is  ungraceful.  But  -I  see,  Thomas,  that  you 
are  not  profiting  by  my  instructions.  I  shall  remit  your  educa- 
tion to  Catherine,  who  is  wiser  than  I  am,  and  possessed  of  more 
dignity." 

Thomas  turned  with  meekness  toward  Catherine,  who  thus  took 
up  the  theme  of  a  gentleman's  dress.  "  Of  all  things,  Thomas,  don't 
wear  what  is  '  flashy  '  or  '  loud.'  Be  careful  of  the  colors  of  your  neck- 
tie; do  not  let  it  be  sky-blue,  or  pea-green,  or  scarlet,  or  yellow;  do 
not  have  it  ornamented  with  kicking  horses,  curly-tailed  pigs,  battle 
axes,  sunflowers,  skulls,  or  enormous  geometrical  patterns,  in  bro- 
cade. Don't  fall  in  love  with  '  new  style  summer  shirts,'  in  large 
plaid,  or  printed  with  horses,  dogs,  whips,  or  ploughs.  When  you 
sport  a  silk  kerchief — for  looks,  in  your  side  pocket — have  it  of  good 
quality,  not  too  gay  colors,  and  with  a  rich  border  that  will,  as  judici- 
ously displayed,  light  up  your  costume." 

"And,  Thomas,"  said  Laura,  "dont  be  afraid  of  color;  Ruskin,  and 
Hammerton,  and  Taine,  all  declare  this  to  be  a  great  fault.  Let 
your  ties  be  of  some  color  that  will  enliven  your  other  dress ;  don't 
always  have  them  black,  or  slate,  or  brown.  More  than  this,  do  not 
always  dress  in  black,  as  if  you  were  going  to  a  funeral.  Young 
men  look  well  in  suits  of  dark  plum,  navy  blue,  very  deep  green, 
and  handsome  brown.  I  hope,  too,  that  you  will  get  your  hand- 
kerchiefs fine,  white,  at  least  in  the  centre,  that  the  borders  will  be 
neat,  and  not  like  flaming  torches.  Avoid  red  or  yellow  bandannas, 
whatever  you  do." 

The  Stranger  had  been  admiring  this  brisk  discussion  of  a  gentle- 
•  man's  dress.  He  knew  that  there  are  no  more  obsemant  observers 
of  these  particulars  than  young  ladies,  and  none  whose  opinion  will 
have  greater  weight  with  young  men,  who,  of  course,  dress  with  an 
eye  to  pleasing  the  taste  of  their  young  lady  friends,  who  most  likely 
i return  the  compliment! 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE    IN  DRESS.  313 

"  I  quite  agree,"  he  said,  "  with  the  suggestions  made  by  these 
wise  maidens.  What  they  say  of  color  in  your  dress  is  exceedingly 
well  put.  As  far  as  economy  is  concerned,  it  is  not  best  to  buy 
black  goods.  From  the  strong  dye  used  it  is  apt  to  wear  out  soon, 
while  black  clothes  sooner  than  any  others  begin  to  look  '  shiny '  on 
the  knees,  and  white  at  the  seams.  Black  clothes  also  show  dust 
and  spots  very  soon.  People  should  examine  their  clothes  carefully 
every  day,  and  brush  them  well,  removing  any  little  spoiled  spots." 

"  What  is  the  best  brush  to  use  ?"  asked  Robert. 

"  You  should  have  a  whisk  brush  of  short,  very  fine  broom  ;  also 
a  brush  of  bristles,  not  too  stiff;  a  brush  of  very  fine,  soft  bristles  for 
your  hat,  and  a  brush  for  your  shoes.  Keep  also  a  piece  of  fine, 
soft  sponge,  where  you  need  to  use  a  little  water  to  cleanse  your 
clothes.  Nothing  sooner  ruins  clothes  than  when  there  is  a  spot 
of  dust,  ashes,  or  other  soil,  to  rub  it  with  the  palm  of  the  hand ; 
this  invariably  spreads  and  sets  the  dirt.  The  hand  being  generally, 
oven  if  not  consciously,  moist  and  a  little  oily,  was  never  made  to 
be  a  clothes-cleaner;  its  result  is — a  smear.  You  cannot  be  too 
aeat  and  particular  about  your  clothes,  both  as  concerns  economy 
;md  appearance.  The  careless  young  fellow  is  pretty  sure  to  make  a 
dirty,  driveling  old  man,  whom  no  one  likes  to  look  at." 

"  When  a  spot  will  not  brush  off,"  said  George,  "  what  shall  we 
use  to  remove  it  ?  " 

"  Take  the  sponge  and  moisten  it  in  a  little  tepid  water  in  which 
you  have  put  a  pinch  of  borax,  or  a  few  drops  of  ammonia.  A  brush 
of  your  sponge  against  a  bit  of  very  hard,  white  castile  soap  is  also 
good,  if  you  need  to  rub  a  spot." 

"  Now  that  we  understand  something  about  cleaning  clothes,  let 
us  hear  more  about  what  clothes  to  buy,"  said  Peter. 

"  But  you  need  to  know  more  about  taking  care  of  your  clothing," 
said  the  Stranger.  "  Do  not  leave  your  garments  hanging  in  your 
closet  from  one  season  to  another,  but  when  you  are  about  to  lay  them 
aside  for  a  few  months  clean  them  thoroughly,  and,  folding  them  so 
that  they  will  not  wrinkle,  put  them  away  in  chests  or  drawers.  Lay 


314  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

between  the  folds  a  little  gum  camphor,  or  red  cedar  bark,  and  fold 
each  separate  article  in  newspapers,  and  .then  you  will  never  be 
troubled  with  moths.  If  you  have  a  fur  cap,  as  a  seal-skin,  brush 
all  the  dust  from  it;  pin  it  up  in  a  linen  towel,  and  put  it  in  a  cedar 
or  pasteboard  box,  where  it  will  not  crush.  Do  not  put  camphor 
with  fur  caps.  Blue  clothes  that  have  'sun-faded'  return  to  their 
color  by  being  kept  for  a  time  in  the  dark.  Never  put  anything 
away  soiled.  The  dust  fades  and  dims  articles  in  which  it  is  bedded, 
while  others  soil,  as  grease  or  perspiration  spreads  and  becomes  set 
in  the  goods.  Clothes  well  cleaned  when  put  by,  come  out  like 
new." 

"  What  about  buying  clothes  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"  Get  your  clothes  from  reliable  places :  get  them  good  of  their 
kind,  and  made  to  order.  It  is  better  to  have  fewer  clothes,  and 
have  them  good  and  well  fitting ;  they  will  last  longer,  save  money 
in  the  end,  and  always  look  genteel.  One  can  very  seldom  buy 
ready  made  clothes  that  are  a  good  fit.  The  trowsers  will  be  too 
long  or  too  short,  or  baggy  at  the  knees ;  the  coat  will  wrinkle  at  the 
neck  or  shoulder,  and  the  sleeves  be  wrong  in  some  way.  Even  if 
they  seem  to  suit  when  you  try  them  on  at  the  store,  and  the  voluble 
clerk  is  in  ecstasies  at  the  '  wonderful  fit,'  be  sure,  when  you  have 
had  them  a  week,  that  you  will  wish  you  had  not  bought  them." 

"And  now  for  colors,"  said  Peter. 

"A  gentleman  always  looks  better  in  rather  dark  clothes.  Very 
light  goods  can  only  be  worn  a  few  times  before  becoming  shabby. 
Unless  you  are  rich  enough  to  buy  at  your  pleasure,  you  must  deny 
yourself  suits  in  fawn,  lavender,  or  pearl  color.  White  duck  and 
light  linen  look  very  fresh  and  cool  in  summer;  but  one  needs  be 
sure  of  a  thoroughly  good  laundress,  for  if  these  clothes  are  poorly 
washed,  or  are  ironed  awry,  or  with  spots  of  starch  showing,  they 
make  one  look  very  untidy.  Vests  of  white,  of  black  velvet,  and 
embroidered  vests  are  fashions  of  occasional  times,  and  soon  go  out 
of  style ;  and  unless  one  has  means  to  indulge  in  what  they  do  not 
expect  to  wear  out,  it  is  better  not  to  get  them,  for  anything  of  a 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  315 

conspicuous  style  soon  looks  '  old-fashioned.'  Spring  and  summer 
goods  for  gentlemen  vary  as  those  for  ladies.  There  are  certain 
makes  of  cloth,  as  Cheviots,  that  are  always  reliable.  The  all-wool 
medium  dark  goods  for  warm  weather  are  a  safe  investment,  and 
always  genteel  if  you  do  not  get  the  pronounced  styles,  as,  for  in- 
stance, a  plaid  so  large  that  it  takes  two  pair  of  trowsers  to  show  off 
the  pattern  !  Stripes  and  plaids  become  but  few  figures ;  and  re- 
member you  are  not  to  purchase  a  thing  merely  because  it  is  in  the 
market,  but  because  it  suits  you." 

"  Which  is  the  worst  extreme,"  asked  Robert — "  a  sloven  or  a 
dandy  ?  " 

"  One  is  about  as  bad  as  the  other.  The  sloven  is  usually  a 
boor  in  his  manners,  ill  furnished  in  mind,  and  negligent  in  business, 
because  he  carries  his  untidy  dispositions  into  all  that  he  does.  The 
dandy  is  usually  too  self-conceited  to  care  to  learn,  too  fond  of  his 
appearance  to  be  willing  to  work,  and  so  mad  after  dress  that  he  does 
not  consider  what  he  can  afford,  and  extravagance  is  twin-brotJier  to 
dishonesty'' 

"  You  speak  as  if  dress  and  actions  had  close  relationship." 

"And  indeed  they  do.  Extremes,  either  in  negligence  or  show,, 
arise  out  of  a  coarse  or  frivolous  mind.  They  indicate  what  is  in 
the  disposition,  and  serve  to  intensify  it.  You  will  have  observed 
that  people  are  more*  mannerly  and  at  ease  when  they  are  well 
dressed.  Ill-fitting,  ill-made,  ill-looking  garments  help  to  destroy 
one's  self-respect.  I  wish  all  parents  would  remember  this  :  if  they 
wish  their  sons  to  be  mannerly,  obliging,  cheerful,  quick,  easy  in 
in  society  or  business,  they  must  not  burden  them  with  a  sense  of 
negligence  and  inferiority  by  means  of  outgrown,  patched,  miserable 
garments.  It  is  true  that  poverty  often  obliges  parents  to  dress  their 
children  less  neatly  than  they  would  wish.  But  in  any  case  they  can 
make  them  scrupulously  tidy,  and  patches  can  be  neatly  put  on, 
matching  in  color  and  in  thread,  and  well  sewed.  Many  parents 
allow  their  children  to  be  carelessly  dressed  from  mere  greed  or  neg- 
ligence. They  do  not  realize  that  they  are  thus  doing  much  to 


316  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

destroy  the  future  of  their  children.  When  a  boy's  clothes  are 
whole  and  well-fitted,  and  the  barber  has  cut  his  hair,  and  he  has  a 
nail-brush,  clothes-brush,  tooth-brush,  shoe-brush,  he  is  much  more 
likely  to  be  self-respecting,  honorable,  and  diligent  than  if  he  owns 
none  of  these  things.  Good  manners  are  of  themselves  a  large 
business  capital." 

"  Some  people,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  make  muffs  of  their  boys, 
by  keeping  them  too  long  in  childish  clothes.  I  remember  a  long- 
legged  youngster  of  eleven,  whose  mother  kept  him  in  pumps,  knee- 
breeches,  fancy  striped  stockings,  ruffled  shirts,  lace  collars,  and  long 
yellow  curls.  He  went  to  dancing  school,  and  out  on  parade  along 
the  avenues.  He  was  a  cry-baby,  a  tell-tale,  a  dreadful  little  liar; 
and  had  various  other  interesting  ugly  ways ;  all  because  he  was 
never  taught  anything  reasonable  and  manly." 

"O,  John  Frederick !  and  you  lay  all  that  to  his  dress !  "  cried 
Dora. 

"  Well,  a  deal  of  it,"  said  John  Frederick  ;  "  a  mother  who  had  so 
little  sense  as  to  bring  up  a  boy  in  that  style  was  not  likely  to  have 
sense  enough  to  give  him  instructions  that  would  make  him  manly 
and  honorable.  He  and  his  clothes  were  all  of  a  piece." 

"A  boy,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  should  certainly  be  taken  out  of  the 
long-hair-and-fancy-clothes  age  as  early  as  is  prudent,  and  made  ac- 
tive, muscular,  fearless.  He  should  be  taught  frankness,  industry, 
honorable  ideas,  to  help  other  people,  aid  and  defend  the  weak,  and 
aim  to  be  thoroughly  manly." 

"  Should  a  boy  be  allowed  to  fight?  "  asked  Harriet. 

The  Stranger  laughed.  "  It  is  almost  a  tabooed  question,  and 
whichever  way  I  answer  it,  I  shall  be  condemned.  Nevertheless,  here 
are  my  honest  convictions.  Under  this  present  dispensation  boys  will 
fight.  They  cannot  help  fighting  some.  Their  comrades  are  by  no 
means  saints ;  in  fact,  some  of  them  are  most  miserable  little  sinners. 
They  will  themselves  be  imposed  on,  and  they  will  see  rank  injustice 
done  to  others  :  the  world  is  full  of  tyrants  under  four  feet  high.  Now 
if  you  teach  a  boy  that  fighting  is  a  sin  per  se,  and  that  he  shall  not 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  317 

and  must  not  fight,  is  he  to  stand  like  a  donkey  and  be  beaten  rv 
any  two-legged  brute  that  chooses,  or  is  he  to  shrink  against  a  wall, 
and  see  sickly  or  small  boys  or  little  girls  tyrannized  over,  and 
abused  ?  I  think  the  boy  must  be  taught  to  use  his  own  arms,  as 
he  shall  use  his  country's  arms  in  life's  maturer  day,  for  self-defence 
and  honor's  cause." 

Samuel  went  to  the  blackboard  with  a  smile.  He  took  up  a  piece 
of  chalk.  "  Here  are  the  rules  my  father  gave  us  about  fighting: 

" '  i.  Fighting  is  at  best  brutal. 

" '  2.  So,  never  fight  when  you  can  honorably  avoid  it 

'"3.  Never  fight  with  sticks,  stones,  or  any  weapons. 

"'4.  Never  fight  a  person  weaker  than  yourself. 

"'5.  Never  fight  after  your  enemy  is  willing  to  give  in. 

"'6.  Defend  yourself,  your  neighbor  and  the  right.'  " 

"And  your  father  is  a  deacon !  "  cried  Harriet. 

"And  my  father  is  a  deacon,"  said  Samuel,  smiling.  "And  he  has 
had  five  boys  of  us,  and  we  are  none  of  us  fighting  characters.  And, 
/  dorit  think  we  are  ever  any  of  us  imposed  on" 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  said  Catherine,  "  how  I  saw  some  little  lads 
managed  where  I  visited.  One  of  them  came  home  from  school, 
dirty,  ragged,  tearful.  A  boy  had  attacked  him,  torn  his  blouse,  his 
book,  rubbed  dust  in  his  head,  maltreated  him  generally. 

" '  Was  he  a  larger  boy  than  you  ?  '  asked  his  father. 

" '  No-oo,  about  my  size.' 

"'And  did  you  defend  yourself?' 

"'No-oo,  I  just  hollered  and  ran  away!' 

"  '  Well,  come  now,  you  are  very  dirty,  forlorn,  and  miserable;  you 
shall  have  a  bath,  bread  and  milk,  and  go  to  bed.  You  have  be- 
haved like  a  baby,  and  we  will  treat  you  like  one.' 

"A  few  days  after  an  older  child  came  home,  red,  rumpled,  bruised, 
heated. 

'"Come,  son,  you  seem  to  have  been  fighting.  Was  the  boy  larger 
than  you  are  ? '  The  youngster  looked  uneasy,  and  mumbled  a  nega- 
tive. 


518  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  '  So,  so  ;  and  now  what  did  you  fight  for  ? ' 

"A  long  delay  ;  then  out  blurted  the  truth.  '  'Cause  he  wouldn't 
give  me  half  of  his  apple  ! ' 

" '  Well,  really  !  you  have  set  up  as  a  highway  robber,  taking  your 
neighbor's  goods !  And  a  bully !  And  a  coward !  Whipping  a 
smaller  child !  Go  now,  and  get  washed  and  dressed.' 

" '  He  deserves  a  whipping,'  said  his  sister. 

"  'Not  at  all :  he  has  not  lied;   he  owned  the  truth.' 

"  The  little  lad,  glad  at  getting  off  so  well,  soon  returned  to  the 
tea-table ;  he  wore  a  smiling  face. 

'"There  is  no  place  Jure  for  you,'  said  his  father,  calmly;  'such 
principles  as  you  show  are  not  popular  at  this  table.  You  will  find 
food  proper  tc  your  manners  on  a  stand  in  the  corner  of  the  kitchen.' 

"  But  breakfast  and  supper  thus  arranged  proved  unendurable. 
'  Can't  I  never  come  back  ?  '  asked  the  poor  child. 

" '  Certainly ;  when  you  have  made  your  affairs  right' 

" '  But  how  can  I  do  it?' 

'"Take  some  of  your  own  money,  go  and  buy  the  little  boy 'an 
apple,  and  give  it  to  him,  with  an  apology.  Then  you  will  be  once 
more  an  honorable  fellow,  and  we  shall  be  glad  of  your  company.'  " 

"  Thank  you  for  the  story,  Catherine :  that  is  certainly  good  man- 
agement ;  but  see  how  far  we  have  wandered  from  our  theme,  dress, 
and  the  young  men  are  not  yet  done  with  their  questions." 

"  How  about  wearing  jewelry  ?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"A  real  gentleman  wears  but  little  jewelry.  He  may  wear  one 
ring,  if  it  is  not  giudy  or  cheap,  and  if  his  occupation  suits  it  But 
farming  or  any  hard  handicraft  does  not  suit  ring-wearing.  So,  also, 
if  the  hand  is  large,  red,  clumsy,  stubby  in  the  fingers,  or  big  in  the 
joints,  it  is  not  well  to  wear  a  ring,  for  it  only  calls  attention  to 
the  deficiencies  of  the  hand.  Sleeve-buttons  form  a  part  of  any  gen- 
tleman's dress;  they  should  be  good  of  their  kind.  Huge  blue  or 
red  buttons,  or  great  paste  diamonds,  show  bad  taste.  A  plain  pair 
of  pearl  or  carved  ivory  buttons  are  much  more  genteel  than  gilt  or 
tinsel  of  any  kind.  A  watch  is  needful ;  it  has  become  an  article  of  use 


OX  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  319 

rather  than  of  ornament.  One  now  laughs  at  the  tale  of  the  young 
beau  whose  hobby  was  to  wear  watches,  and  who  appeared  with 
several  displayed  on  various  parts  of  his  person." 

"  Let  me  ask.V  said  Laura,  "  if  ladies  wear  watches  to  parties,  or  in 
full  dress?" 

"  No,  they  do  not.  The  watch  is  for  use  :  it  is  supposed  that  it 
has  no  use  at  an  evening  party,  for  people  will  go  home  when  they 
get  ready.  For  calls,  or  at  a  small  sociable,  where  a  lady  goes  in 
walking-dress,  she  may  wear  her  watch  if  she  likes.  I  want  to  say 
to  you  that  in  public  places,  in  crowds,  or  on  the  street,  it  is  not  well 
to  wear  visible  jewelry.  If  in  these  places  you  go  with  your  watch 
in  an  outside  pocket  where  any  one  could  pull  it  out,  bracelets 
loosely  about  your  wrists,  a  chain  hanging  about  your  neck,  where  a 
judicious  clip  would  sever  the  links,  and  diamonds  dangling  from 
your  ears,  you  not  only  show  bad  taste  in  making  yourself  conspic- 
uous, but  you  provoke  attack.  The  professional  thief  finds  you  an 
easy  prey,  while  some  unfortunate,  pressed  by  poverty,  disheartened, 
just  ready  to  fall  into  a  snare,  may  be  provoked  by  your  superfluous 
ornament  to  enter  on  a  path  of  crime." 

"  Is  any  jewelry  allowable  except  watch  and  chain,  ring  and 
sleeve-buttons  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"A  simple  scarf-ring  or  pin  may  be  worn,  and  a  stud  in  your  shirt; 
but  one  would  not  wish  all  these  articles  to  be  worn  at  onetime.  For 
my  part  I  think  a  gentleman  always  looks  better  without  a  finger- 
ring,  and  only  young  gentlemen  look  well  in  scarf-pins  and  rings." 

"  What  kind  of  suits  do  we  need  most,  and  when  are  they  to  be 
worn  ?  "  asked  Henry. 

"  For  travelling  or  driving  in  warm,  dusty  weather,  you  need  what 
is  called  a  duster,  a  large  loose  coat  of  linen,  colored  alpaca,  or  some 
other  suitable  goods.  For  spring  and  autumn  you  need  an  overcoat 
much  less  heavy  than  for  winter  wear ;  get  this  of  a  color  that  will 
harmonize  with  your  other  clothing,  and  suit  all  occasions  of  wearing 
Very  dark  or  black  goods  will  be  best.  For  winter  you  want  a  large 
heavy  overcoat.  You  should  bear  in  mind  the  suggestion  about  the 


320  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

care  of  clothes  when  you  put  these  three  coats  away  during  the 
times  that  you  do  not  need  them.  Of  good  make  and  material,  with 
due  attention  to  cleaning,  and  having  the  buttons  and  button-holes 
kept  in  order,  they  will  last  you  for  several  seasons.  You  need  also 
hats  for  these  various  seasons :  in  summer  a  straw  hat,  wide  enougli 
in  the  brim  to  shelter  the  face ;  for  fall  and  spring  a  felt  of  a  shape 
and  color  becoming ;  for  winter  a  fur  or  cloth  cap  is  best.  Next 
consider  your  gloves :  good  dark  kid  for  church  and  calling ;  light 
kid  for  evening  companies.  For  ordinary  business  wear  and  travel- 
ling get,  in  winter,  a  fine  cloth  glove  of  dark  gray,  or  chocolate,  or 
seal  brown,  and  in  summer  gloves  of  gray  thread,  even  and  fine. 
These  last  can  be  washed.  It  is  not  well  to  tie  up  the  throat  too 
much — it  makes  it  delicate,  and  renders  one  liable  to  take  cold  when 
it  is  uncovered ;  but  there  will  be  occasions  when  you  need  a  wrap, 
so  it  is  well  to  have  in  your  wardrobe  a  worsted  scarf,  a  large  silk  or 
cashmere  handkerchief,  or  a  seal-skin  collar,  this  last  being  the 
most  expensive  and  dangerous  neck-wear  that  can  be  purchased.  A 
silk  handkerchief  is  the  safest  protection  for  the  throat." 

"And  now  for  our  suits,"  said  Peter. 

"  If  you  only  keep  two  suits  you  will  find  that  you  are  often  in  a 
strait  as  to  what  to  put  on,  and  that  your  clothes  soon  spoil  from 
over  wear.  In  the  first  place  you  want  a  business  suit.  A  dark 
heavy  cloth  suit  of  this  kind  will  be  fit  for  wear  from  the  last  week 
in  October  to  the  middle  of  April,  and  a  lighter  cloth  suit  will  do 
from  the  middle  of  April  to  the  last  of  October.  You  want  then  a 
medium  dress  suit  to  wear  to  church,  or  ordinary  calls,  or  evening 
wear ;  a  frock  coat  is  worn  in  this  suit,  and  the  reigning  fashion  will 
determine  whether  the  coat  and  vest,  or  trowsers  and  vest  are  to 
match,  or  whether  the  entire  suit  is  to  be  of  the  same  goods ;  fre- 
quently the  coat  and  pants  match,  and  the  vest  is  a  little  more  fan- 
ciful. Then,  if  you  go  out  much  in  society,  as  to  parties  and  for 
New  Year's  calls,  you  can  have  a  full  dress  suit,  of  such  cloth  and 
make  as  fashion  assigns,  being  very  careful  to  go  to  no  extremes. 
If  you  go  gunning,  boating,  fishing,  you  can  either  have  clothes  es- 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  321 

pecially  fit  for  these  occasions,  or  use  a  business  suit  that  you  have 
laid  by;  for  the  water,  dust,  briars,  and  mud  that  you  are  likely  to 
find  in  your  sport  will  destroy  any  suit  for  ordinary  wear.  A  dark 
blue  flannel  yachting  shirt,  of  best  finish,  will  cost  from  three  to  five 
dollars,  wears  a  long  time,  and  looks  well  for  fishing  and  boating. 
A  blue  flannel,  short,  double-breasted  coat  is  also  good  for  water 
service  or  camping.  Corduroy  jacket  and  breeches  suit  gunning 
and  camping  expeditions,  as  they  neither  soil,  tear,  nor  wear  out 
readily.  Tho  blue  flannel  shirt  or  coat  can  be  worn  with  the  trowsers 
of  some  laid-aside  suit.  For  travelling,  the  ordinary  business  suit  is 
most  appropriate." 

"And  for  a  picnic  I  suppose  the  business  suit  is  best." 

"Yes — in  fact  this  business  suit  is  wonderfully  convenient  on  many 
occasions — only  be  careful  when  you  choose  it.  Never  get  a  pattern 
with  bars  running  across  the  leg.  Never  get  a  side  stripe,  or  stripes 
running  perpendicularly,  unless  you  are  sure  that  your  legs  are  per- 
fectly straight,  for  these  stripes  ex.u',;',er.ite  the  least  crookedness. 
Short  men  should  not  wear  stripes,  and  fat  men  should  never  wear 
checks  or  plaids." 

14  Girls,"  said  Peter,  "  have  some  chance  to  save  in  their  clothes,  by 
making  over  things,  but  we  have  none." 

"  You  are  not  deprived,  by  any  means,  of  the  practice  of  economy, 
Peter.  You  can  economize — 

"  1st.  In  buying:  get  the  good  and  durable. 

"  2d.  In  wearing  :  wear  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time. 

"  3d.  In  caring :  keep  things  clean  and  in  repair. 

"  4th.  In  using :  the  best  parts  of  a  velvet  vest  that  are  past  service 
will  afford  a  collar  for  your  winter  coat  when  it  is  being  renovated; 
the  skirts  of  your  coats  never  wear  out ;  you  can  take  the  skirt  of 
a  worn-out  full  dress  or  medium  dress  suit  and  have  a  nice  vest 
made  of  it.  The  rims  of  a  felt  hat  will  make  the  best  of  warm,  in- 
side soles,  and  pieces  of  your  heavy  clothes  will  make  caps  or  slip- 
pers. Rut  the  best  of  all  economy  is  carefulness;  and  here  I  mean 
not  only  taking  care  of  your  clothes,  but  taking  care  of  yourself.  Do 
•21 


322  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

not,  either  man  or  woman,  begrudge  money  spent  in  good  flannels. 
Flannel  should  be  worn  next  the  skin  the  year  round;  heavy  in 
winter;  lighter  in  spring  and  fall;  very  thin  in  summer.  Never 
wear  linen  next  the  skin.  Flannel  is  needed  in  even  hot  weather 
because  of  the  sudden  chill  that  comes  with  hail  or  thunder  storms, 
high  gusts  of  wind,  the  approach  of  night,  and  the  fall  of  dew.  Also, 
we  walk  or  work,  and  so  perspire;  we  sit  down  to  rest,  or  are  in 
a  draught,  and  if  we  have  cotton,  but  especially  linen,  next  the  per- 
son, we  are  liable  to  have  a  chill.  Do  not  wear  the  same  flannels  by 
day  and  night,  especially  if  you  -perspire  readily.  Remember  that 
it  is  much  more  economical  to  spend  money  in  plenty  of  strong, 
suitable  clothing,  than  in  drugs,  doctors'  and  nurses'  bills.  Wear 
India-rubbers  when  you  need  them  ;  also  inside  soles." 

"  What  are  the  best  simple  articles  for  the  toilette  ?  "  asked  Dora. 

"  Have  on  every  toilette  one  china  or  glass  box  of  powdered  borax; 
one  bottle  of  ammonia;  one  bottle  of  a  weak  solution  of  carbolic 
acid  ;  one  bottle  of  lime-water.  Put  on  the  ammonia  and  acid  solu- 
tion bright  red  or  blue  labels,  lest  you  injure  yourself  by  drinking 
of  them  by  mistake.  It  is  the  height  of  folly  to  drink  any  medicine 
hastily  from  a  bottle ;  always  look  carefully  at  what  you  are  to  put 
in  your  mouth;  put  it  in  a  cup  or  spoon,  and  know  what  you  are 
taking.  I  have  known  people  to  be  nearly  killed  by  snatching  up  an 
ammonia  bottle  in  semi-darkness  and  pouring  part  of  the  contents 
down  the  throat.  Ammonia  is  by  no  means  a  poison,  but  it  is  too 
violent  in  its  qualities  to  be  used  undiluted,  or  in  large  quantities. 
For  nervousness,  sleeplessness,  indigestion,  it  is  an  admirable  remedy, 
taken  ten  drops  at  a  time,  in  sufficient  water.  Have  also  on  your 
toilette  a  box  of  camphor  cream,  and  a  bottle  of  cosmoline  or 
glycerine." 

"  How  do  you  prepare  the  lime-water?"  asked  Laura. 

"  Take  a  lump  of  unslacked  lime,  pour  some  water  on  it ;  when  it 
has  finished  effervescing,  pour  off  the  water  clear." 

"And  for  what  do  you  use  these  articles?"  asked  Harriet. 

"  The  borax  will  afford  you  a  dentifrice ;  a  little  of  it  placed  in 


ON  PROPRIETY  AND  ELEGANCE  IN  DRESS.  323 

the  bath-water  will  cleanse  your  skin ;  mix  a  little  borax  with  soft 
water  and  rose  water  and  it  will  cleanse  and  beautify  your  hair.  It 
will  also  clean  your  clothes." 

"And  how  about  the  ammonia  ?"  asked  Peter. 

"  Beside  its  medical  uses,  as  given  above,  it  is  admirable,  especially 
in  summer  in  the  bath,  using  a  little  to  cool  and  cleanse  the  skin. 
Half  a  teaspoon  of  ammonia,  a  tablespoon  of  bay  rum,  and  a  pint 
of  soft  water,  will  make  an  admirable  wash  for  your  head.  A  table- 
spoonful  of  ammonia  and  a  pint  of  water,  used  every  fortnight,  on 
your  combs  and  brushes,  will  keep  them  always  clean ;  nothing  is 
more  disgusting  on  a  toilette  than  a  filthy  comb  and  brush.  Am- 
monia also  is  excellent  for  cleansing  clothes,  especially  black." 

"  Now  for  the  carbolic  acid  ?  "  said  Henry. 

"Many  people  are  troubled  with  an  excess  of  perspiration,  pro- 
ducing a  palpable  odor;  some  people  have  trouble  of  this  kind  with 
the  feet.  If  the  feet  are  well  washed  every  night,  and  then  sponged 
over  with  this  solution  of  carbolic  acid,  leaving  it  to  dry  in,  this 
annoyance  will  surely  be  removed.  Used  not  too  strong,  but  faith- 
fully applied,  it  corrects  these  disagreeable  odors.  Carbolic  acid  is 
also  good  as  a  disinfectant,  and  is  admirable  used  about  basins  and 
other  bed-room  ware,  particularly  stationary  wash-stands,  which  are 
apt  to  be  most  pestilential,  as  the  'wise  and  honest  plumber'  has  not 
yet  been  discovered." 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  the  lime-water  ?  "  asked  Dora. 

"If  for  one  week  in  every  month  you  take  one  spoonful  of  lime- 
water  in  a  little  milk  or  clear  water,  you  are  not  likely — if  in  addi- 
tion you  keep  your  teeth  well  cleaned — ever  to  have  a  bad  breath. 
Bad  breath  is  very  mortifying  and  unpleasant.  The  lime-water  is 
second  to  no  agent  in  sweetening  and  purifying  the  stomach.  In- 
stead of  having  some  especial  time  for  taking  it,  it  would  be  better 
to  use  it  when  you  find  your  breath  is  foul,  taking  it  morning  and 
evening  for  a  few  days.  But  while  enough  of  it  is  good,  too  much 
is  bad ;  for  you  can  take  so  much  as  to  overload  the  system  with 
lime ;  therefore  be  sparing." 


324  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"  What  is  good  to  improve  the  complexion  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  Plenty  of  exercise,  fresh  air,  a  well-aired  bed-room,  plain  food, 
regular  hours,  and  abundance  of  fresh  water.  The  lotions  recom- 
mended for  the  skin  are  generally  poisons.  All  paints  and  powders 
for  the  skin  are  destructive  in  the  end  to  complexion  and  health. 
So  the  hair-dyes,  tinctures,  tonics  and  lotions  are  dangerous.  Lead 
is  their  main  ingredient,  and  they  promote  palsy,  paralysis  and  other 
dangerous  disorders.  A  nice  wash  for  cleansing  and  cooling  the 
skin  is  this :  equal  parts  of  rose  water  and  rain  water,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  borax.  This  is  refreshing  and  healthful.  Where  the 
skin  gets,  especially  in  hot  weather,  a  greasy  look,  dip  a  cloth  in 
this  mixture  and  wash  the  face  and  neck  several  times  a  day.  So 
bay-rum,  rose  water,  rain  water,  and  glycerine,  make  an  admirable 
lotion,  safe  and  pleasant.  But  now  we  have  sufficiently  discussed 
DRESS  AND  THE  TOILETTE." 


CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH. 

AVENUES    OPENING    ON    LIFE. 

a  brilliant  August  day,  our  Mentor  was  busy  with 
certain  papers  in  his  Bureau,  when  looking  up  he  saw 
an  excited  and  wretched  countenance  glaring  at  him 
through  the  doorway. 

It  was  the  saddle  and  harness  man. 
During  the  two  and  a  half  years  since  his  marriage  this  despondent 
Pessimist  had  begun  to  take  more  cheerful  views  of  human  affairs. 
Even  the  arrival  of  a  daughter  had  not  destroyed  his  peace.  But  on 
this  day  the  August  luxuriance  and  harvest  splendors  seemed  only 
a  mockery  of  his  unspoken  woes.  The  man  of  leather  had  relapsed 
into  that  state  of  misery  in  which  he  was  first  known  to  us,  seated 
on  a  keg  of  nails,  and  advocating  the  doctrines  of  Malthus. 

"What's  the  matter?  What  has  happened  to  you?"  cried  the 
Stranger. 

"Twins"  said  the  mournful  saddler. 
"  Twins  !  fortunate  man.     I  congratulate  you  !  " 
"  Humph,"  groaned  the  saddler,  "  this  may  be  a  fine  place  to  come 
to  for  information,  but  it  is  poor  enough  in  the  way  of  consolation." 
"  Come  in,  come  in,  and  consider.     Let  me  exhibit  to  you  your 
privileges." 

The  saddler  moaned  and  took  a  chair. 

"  Now  behold,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Here  is  the  restless  period 
of  wailing  infancy  to  be  passed  through  but  once,  yet  for  a  double 
result.  One  spring  sowing  time  for  two  harvests.  The  one  long 
watch  over  the  animal  stage  of  life,  and  the  development  will  be 

(325) 


326  PRACTICAL  LIFE, 

two  souls.  Only  once  to  teach  the  Commandments  and  the  Al- 
phabet, but  two  shall  have  grasped  them.  Once  you  will  strive,  and 
hope,  and  watch  through  the  quicksand  navigations  of  youth,  and 
two  safe  voyages  will  be  your  reward.  Twins !  One  battle  and 
two  victories ! " 

"  I  don't  quite  take  you  in,"  said  the  saddler,  "  but  I  will  go  home 
and  report  your  remarks  to  my  wife ;  possibly  she  may  better  under- 
stand you." 

In  the  afternoon  Samuel  and  Robert  came  in. 

"The  saddler  is  greatly  nonplussed  by  the  appearance  of  twins  at 
his  house,"  said  Robert.  "  He  says  he  has  no  objections  to  the 
little  beings  themselves :  in  fact  he  is  very  sorry  for  them,  for  he 
cannot  see  what  future  lies  before  them.  He  says  the  earth  is  over- 
crowded, and  a  foothqld  and  a  living  are  harder  than  ever  to  earn. 
Once  everybody  rode  on  horseback:  there  were  ten  saddles  needed 
where  now  there  is  one,  and  ten  pillions  where  now  there  are  none." 

"And  I  told  him,"  said  Samuel,  "that  all  the  world  is  not  made 
for  saddlers.  There  are  carriage-makers,  too,  and  while  less  saddles 
are  used,  more  carriages  and  other  vehicles  are  demanded.  He 
replied  that  once  people  wore  out  their  vehicles  honorably  and  hand- 
somely by  making  all  their  journeys  in  them  ;  but  in  these  miserable 
days,  folks  travelled  in  cars  and  boats,  and  carriages  were  less  used. 
Then  we  replied,  that  there  were  more  people  in  the  world  than 
carriage-builders,  and  that  a  thousand  men  now  got  a  living  by 
building  steamboats  and  cars,  engines  and  railroads,  where  formerly 
one  made  his  fortune  at  the  carriages." 

"But,  however,"  said  Robert,  "he  went  on  to  explain  to  us  that 
population  has  often  exceeded  the  food  and  accommodations  needful 
to  preserve  people  in  health.  If  there  is  too  great  a  mass  of  popu- 
lation, they  must  live  in  too  close  and  crowded  homes,  on  too  poqr 
food,  and  the  race  will  deteriorate.  There  will  come  a  time  when 
the  increase  of  the  number  of  men  surpassing  their  means  of  sub- 
sistence, the  result  must  be  misery  and  starvation.  Population  does 
not  create  prosperity ;  it  is  prosperity  that  causes  population.  It  is 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  327 

mad1  folly  to  increase  population  before  you  have  provided  supplies 
for  them.  The  unjust,  the  idle,  and  the  vicious  have  the  most  chil- 
dren, and  these  very  qualities  prevent  their  providing  for  their  chil- 
dren. Twenty  thousand  miserable  wretches  rise  up  every  morning 
without  knowing  how  they  are  to  be  supported  during  the  day,  or 
where  they  are  to  lodge  at  night.  When  indigence  does  not  produce 
overt  crimes,  it  yet  palsies  virtue.  When  population  exceeds  the 
demands  of  labor  and  capital,  the  result  will  be  general  mendicity." 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  these  are  the  often-repeated 
doctrines  of  Malthus,  and  it  is  thus  that  I  will  reply  to  them.  Just 
so  far  as  they  warn  people  against  premature  marriage,  and  against 
marrying  with  no  reasonable  prospect  of  providing  honestly  and 
healthfully  for  a  family,  they  are  right  and  useful.  But  people  are 
not  bound  to  assure  riches  to  their  children ;  only  moral  training, 
and  physical  and  mental  education,  to  qualify  them  to  make  an 
honest  support.  The  increase  of  sober,  industrious  population  will 
increase  capital  and  a  demand  for  labor.  The  twenty  thousand  who 
do  not  know  where  they  shall  get  food  and  shelter  are  not  honest, 
industrious  people.  Given  each  a  million  to-day,  they  are  likely  to 
be  as  ill  off  in  ten  years.  What  they  need  is  morals.  If  we  judge 
by  the  light  of  historic  evidence,  population,  if  it  is  industrious,  will 
not  surpass  the  supply  capacity  of  the  earth.  No  matter  how  many 
thousand  crowd  in  at  the  gates  of  life,  there  are  separate  and  ample 
paths  provided  for  all.  No  man  is  obliged  to  fail  or  fall  because  a 
score  of  fellow-men  are  eager  for.  his  place.  He  can  hold  his  own  if 
*he  is  worthy  of  it;  and  they  are  not  striving  for  his  place,  but  for 
their  own.  To  each  his  portion.  There  is  bread  for  every  worker ; 
space  for  every  worker;  enough  for  every  worker;  work  for  every 
worker.  The  question  is  simply,  will  the  man  accept  his  own  place, 
and  fill  it  as  well  as  he  can  ?  " 

"  But  there  is  ambition,"  said  Robert :  "  one  longs,  and  rightly,  for 
some  higher  thing :  to  make  more  of  himself." 

"But  lawful  and  wise  ambition  is  to  fill  well  our  own  place,  and 
so  rise  higher  and  enter  broader  fields  by  being  diligent  in  duty.  If 


328  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

we  are  earnest  and  complete  in  everything  that  we  undertake,  then 
new  opportunities  will  ever  open  to  us.  You  remember  that  when 
Jericho  was  captured,  every  man,  with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  went  up 
straight  before  him.  Which  way  his  eyes  were  set  his  feet  went,  and 
he  used  his  own  weapon.  He  did  not  grasp  for  his  neighbor's  sword, 
and  his  neighbor's  post,  nor  struggle  to  snatch  and  blow  the  trumpets 
of  the  priests  ;  he  just  went  forward  in  the  place  that  belonged  to 
him, — and  night  found  him  a  victor." 

"  Still,"  said  Samuel,  "don't  you  think  it  very  natural  that  where 
there  is  a  large  family  the  parents  should  be  anxious  and  perplexed 
to  think  how  all  these  are  to  make  a  way  in  the  world,  get  a  living, 
and  be  able  to  take  care  of  families  of  their  own?  I  think  of  that 
view,  for  I  am  one  of  eight.  We  have  always  had  all  that  we  needed, 
but  our  father's  means  are  not  sufficient  for  giving  a  handsome  farm 
to  each  of  his  five  sons,  or  to  set  them  up  in  some  business,  and  givte 
the  three  girls  enough  to  provide  them  a  moderate  living  all  their 
lives.  And  I  am  sure  my  parents  have  often  felt  troubled  to  know 
how  we  shall  provide  a  competence  for  ourselves." 

"  Hew  many  brothers  and  sisters  did  your  father  have  ?  " 

"  Seven,"  replied  Samuel. 

"And  was  the  world  too  narrow  for  them  ?  Did  they  starve,  or 
steal,  or  fail  to  make  their  way  ?  " 

"  Why,  no.     They  are  all  about  as  well-to-do  as  father." 

" '  Thousands  of  times  has  this  old  tale  been  told,' "  said  the 
Stranger.  "  For  how  many  generations  back,  do  you  suppose  that 
the  hearts  of  men  have  been  careful  and  troubled,  wondering,  '  From 
whence  can  a  man  satisfy  these  men  with  bread,  here  in  the  wilder- 
ness?' And  yet  always  the  earth's  few  loaves  and  fishes  have 
allowed,  all  to  eat  until  they  were  filled,,  and  the  abundant  remnants 
of  its  provision  have  remained  for  those  who  come  after.  Do  you 
know  that  the  world  is  never  but  six  months  from  starvation,  and 
yet  has  never  starved  ?  " 

"  How  is  that?  "  asked  Henry,  who  had  just  entered. 

"  Take  all  the  eaters  on  the  earth,  and  all  the  provisions,  and 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  329 

there  is  never  more  than  a  six  months'  supply  in  advance.  This  is 
also  true  of  light,  and  fuel,  as  of  food.  Trover  the  whole  surface  of 
the  earth  one  entire  harvest  failed,  and  if  during  six  months  no  fresh 
fuel  or  lighting  material  were  produced  from  the  earth,  the  whole 
human  race,  at  the  end  of  six  months,  must  sit  down  in  cold  and 
darkness,  and  die  of  hunger.  And  yet,  century  after  century,  men 
pass  in  abundant  safety,  just  along  the  verge  of  destruction.  That 
six  months'  supply  is  enough  :  more  would  be  surfeit  and  stagnation. 
A  man  who  has  only  means  enough  to  cover  six  months  ahead  calls 
himself  poor.  Yet  strike  a  mean,  and  you  find  all  the  human 
race  averages  this  or  less;  and  having  this,  they  are  rich.  And  did 
not  David  say,  '  I  have  never  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his 
seed  begging  bread?' " 

"Still,"  said  Robert,  "there  are  millions,  who  are  neither  counted 
as  the  righteous,  nor  his  seed." 

"  True,  and  yet  they  shall  have  plenty,  from  the  very  crumbs  that 
fall  from  the  children's  table.  Every  good  householder  provides 
for  his  household — and  to  spare.  So  does  God." 

The  other  young  people  were  gathering  into  the  Bureau. 

"  I  wish,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  you  would  talk  to-day  of  these 
avenues  opening  on  life,  and  how  we  shall  recognize  our  own  and 
enter  it." 

"  It  will  be  an  abstruse  subject,"  said  Henry,  "and  I. hope  that  you 
will  make  it  as  plain  and  simple  as  possible,  for  it  is  a  practical  sub- 
ject, though  difficult ;  and  we  must  be  able  to  grasp  and  understand 
it,  if  we  are  to  carry  its  teachings  out  in  our  lives." 

"  Yes,"  said  Catherine ;  "divide  it  up  for  us,  to  begin  with,  and  we 
will  set  down  the  points,  and  so  understand  your  reasoning." 

"  Then,  Robert,  put  down  these  three  points  on  the  blackboard," 
said  the  Stranger.  "  They  shall  cover  the  whole  ground. 

"  ist.  THE  INDIVIDUAL. 

"  2d.  THE  OBJECT  OF  HIS  PURSUIT. 

"3d.  THE  PURSUIT  OF  HIS  OBJECT. 

"  To  begin,  then,  you  are  each  of  you  the  individual  in  question. 


330  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Consider  yourselves.  Remember  that  you  have  each  of  you  to 
make  the  best  that  you  can  out  of  yourselves.  You  have  no  other 
person's  shining  qualifications  or  evident  short-comings  to  handle. 
You  have  yourself  for  your  own  material ;  face  that  material  frankly. 
What  you  are,  the  stuff  that  is  in  you,  has  been  given  you.  There 
is  room  for  neither  praise  nor  blame  thus  far ;  it  remains  to  make 
the  best  that  you  can  out  of  that  material.  Recollect,  iron  is  a  more 
generally  useful  metal  than  gold,  though  not  so  brilliant.  We 
should  be  badly  off  for  bricks  and  dishes,  if  there  were  no  clay ;  im- 
mense masses  of  solid  diamond  would  not  be  available  for  our  daily 
needs,  and  where  a  thing  is  not  available  it  ceases  to  be  valuable. 
Gold  really  lost  its  value  at  the  touch  of  Midas.  Gold  has  no  value 
to  those  who  hopelessly  perish  of  hunger  and  thirst.  Clay  also,  well 
kneaded,  manipulated,  decorated,  turns  out  a  priceless  porcelain.  Of 
bricks,  there  are  sun-dried  and  best  pressed  bricks.  Iron  suitably 
manufactured  becomes — Damascus  steel.  Recognize  this  principle 
then  :  //  is  labor  that  improves  the  material.  '  The  anchors  of  our 
hope '  are  forged  in  terrific  glow  and  heat.  The  diamond  must  be 
ground  with  diamond  dust;  the  gold  melted  in  a  crucible,  and 
beaten  and  wrought;  the  wood  must  be  cut  and  fashioned;  the  clay 
must  be  kneaded  and  burned.  Labor  is  the  price  of  all  profit — and 
'in  all  labor  there  is  profit.'  You  see  what  you  are,  or  you  should  try 
to  do  so.  'It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  you  shall  be.'  But  one  thing 
is  certain :  to  be  anything  worth  being,  you  must  go  to  work  at 
yourselves,  making  yourself  better  in  regard  to  what  you  are.  The 
man  who  is  laboring  on  a  diamond  will  not  expect  to  make  of  it  a 
steam-boiler  or  a  frying-pan ;  he  who  has  iron  to  fashion  will  turn 
it  into  rails  and  not  into  jewelry;  if  clay  is  our  working  material,  we 
shall  not  expect  to  build  a  ship  of  it ;  and  if  we  have  wood  to 
manipulate,  it  is  capable  of  more  lasting  uses  than  to  try  to  make  of 
it  a  stove  or  a  smelting  furnace." 

"  It  is,  then,  from  this  consideration  of  ourselves,  that  we  arrive  at 
a  knowledge  of  what  we  may  do — to  what  we  can  best  apply  our- 
selves ?  "  said  John  Frederick. 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  331 

"  Exactly.  We  should  seek  to  know  ourselves — our  moral,  men- 
tal, social  qualities,  our  physical  capacities.  Before  us  lie  many 
lines  of  life,  manual  labor,  professional  labor,  offices  of  trust,  employ- 
ments demanding  here  greater  brain  power,  there  greater  muscular 
power ;  now  more  courage,  tenacity  and  dogged  resolution ;  again 
more  quickness,  invention,  nervous  energy.  What  capital  have  we 
of  these  required  qualities  ?  It  takes  more  money  backing  to  build 
a  railroad  than  to  set  up  a  pea-nut  stand.  Most  people  see  this,  but 
they  often  do  not  see  that  it  takes  more  native  brain  force  to  make  a 
literary  man  than  a  grate-setter.  We  should  be  bold  to  cross-ques- 
tion ourselves,  and  honest  to  answer  under  fear  of  that  worst  perjury 
— perjury  to  ourselves.  Does  not  Socrates  say,  'The  lie  in  the  soul 
is  a  real  deception,  a  real  lie,  hateful  to  God  and  to  man  ?'  We  must 
not  shrink  in  this  self-examination.  Know  thyself,  is  imperative. 
Have  we  a  keen  conscience  accustomed  to  supremacy  ?  are  our  moral 
instincts  naturally  acute  ?  There  are  standards  by  which  to  measure 
ourselves:  public  opinion,  the  lives  and  principles  of  good  men,  the 
Scriptural  law.  If  we  see  that  our  moral  perceptions  are  not  sharply 
defined,  even  though  we  admit  no  overt  act  of  failure,  let  us  beware 
of  throwing  ourselves  in  the  way  of  temptation,  of  entering  offices  of 
trust.  We  may  be  criminal  almost  before  we  know  it.  Many  a 
respectable  young  fellow,  of  moderate  moral  capacity,  has  become  a 
criminal,  a  forger,  a  thief,  a  defaulter,  a  suicide;  merely  because  he 
accepted  a  position  which  it  required  a  moral  giant  to  hold." 

"  But  it  is  so  hard  to  know  ourselves,"  said  Catherine.  "  There 
is  Burns'  old  verse : 

"  '  O  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us 
To  see  oursels  as  ithers  see  us, 
It  wad  fra  mony  a  danger  free  us, 
An'  foolish  notion.' " 

"  Still,  if  we  bring  our  habits  of  thought  and  our  past  lives  under 
rigid  examination,  we  can  know  whether  we  are  morally  eligible  to 
trust.  Thus  a  young  man  who  is  thinking  of  such  a  position  as 
cashier  or  teller  in  a  bank,  or  any  such  place,  let  him  look  to  what 


332  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

we  may  call  his  business  instincts.  Is  it  really  painful  to  him  to  see 
un^iir  dealing?  Would  he  prefer  to  make  a  mistake  against  him- 
self rather  than  against  another?  If  he,  by  an  accident,  gives  a 
man  a  twenty-cent  piece  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  will  he  hunt  him 
up  to  make  it  right  ?  If  it  is  set  before  him  that  he  may  bamboozle 
a  man  into  a  bad  bargain,  does  he  blush  at  the  thought,  or  smile  a 
smile  childlike  and  bland !  Does  he  call  sharp  dealing,  swindling 
or  smartness  ?  '  Ha !  ha ! '  said  an  elderly  man,  whose  son  had  been 
cajoling  an  old  friend  into  a  bad  bargain,  that  swallowed  up  the 
savings  of  years,  '  can't  Jo  talk,  though  ?  '  If  these  questions  to  self 
cannot  be  honorably  answered ;  if  the  man  knows  that  as  a  boy  he 
did  not  keep  a  square  tally;  that  he  knuckled  his  marble  and  slyly 
hit  his  croquet  ball,  'to  get  it  in  a  good  place;'  if  he  forgot  to  give 
his  mother  the  cent  in  change,  and  kept  the  biggest  apples,  and 
counted  his  turn  twice  when  he  divided  nuts ;  if  he  maintained  the 
notable  principle  of  '  findings,  keepings,'  let  him  understand  himself 
well  enough  not  to  take  offices  to  trust,  where  the  inborn  weakness 
may  develop  into  the  enormous  fraud,  the  tiny  peccadilloes  of  child- 
hood may  grow  to  the  crimes  of  manhood." 

"  It  might  save  many  a  ruin,  if  people  setting  out  in  life  would 
catechize  themselves  in  this  style,"  said  Henry;  "and  I  suppose  they 
could  as  sharply  investigate  their  fitness  for  other  things." 

"  Why  not  ?  Docs  he  think  of  being  a  minister,  when  he  has  a 
poor  voice,  weak  lungs,  and  slow  sympathies?  A  person  who  has 
cold,  natural  feelings,  who  never  can  put  himself  in  another  man's 
place,  or  who  has  made  a  very  narrow  escape  of  being  a  boor,  has  no 
right  to  think  of  the  ministry,  though  he  may  be  a  good  sort  of  man. 
Who  should  pursue  the  law,  when  he  is  no  orator,  and  has  slow 
perceptions,  and  cannot  carry  on  a  deep  train  of  reasoning  and  re- 
search ?  Why  choose  the  profession  of  medicine,  if  one  has  coarse 
manners,  a  ponderous  step,  a  clumsy  hand,  a  bellowing  voice,  and  a 
short  memory?  To  enter  on  such  paths  of  life,  while  so  unfitted  to 
tread  them,  is  to  ensure  failure." 

"And  yet,"  said  Robert,  "  when  we  seek  out  our  path  in  life,  it  is 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  333 

natural  to  want  one  that  leads  rapidly  up  ?  Ambition  helps  us  to 
make  the  best  of  ourselves.  You  know  what  Agrippinus  said :  '  I 
do  not  care  to  be  of  a  piece  with  the  common  thread  of  life :  I  like 
to  be  the  purple  sewn  upon  it.' " 

"And  we  can  all  be  the  purple,  in  lofty  morality,  and  in  vigorous 
faithfulness  in  duty,  and  in  the  ages  to  come  we  shall  all  be  crowned 
victors  and  kings,"  said  Catherine. 

"And  this  stirring  of  genius  is  to  be  as  readily  heeded  as  any 
other  voice  in  our  souls,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  We  are  as  bound  to 
know  the  good  as  the  evil  that  is  in  us.  We  must  deal  as  fairly 
with  ourselves  as  with  other  people.  The  '  know  thyself  may  make 
us  acquainted  with  a  genius,  and  he  will  work  out  his  destiny  accord- 
ing to  what  is  in  him.  Says  a  French  author :  'A  swallow  knows  not 
the  way  by  which  eagles  go  toward  the  sun.'  " 

"  You  repeat  that  '  know  thyself/  "  said  John  Frederick,  "  but  only 
yesterday  I  read  this  comment  of  Carlyle  upon  it:  'Our  works  are 
the  mirror  within  which  the  spirit  sees  its  natural  lineaments.  Know 
thyself  is  an  impossible  precept,  till  it  be  translated  into  this  partially 
possible  one,  Know  what  thou  canst  work  at.' " 

"  Then  to  know  what  we  are  we  must  know  what  we  can  do.  Our 
ability  to  do  is  the  touchstone  by  which  we  try  what  metal  we  are 
made  of.  When  we  face  our  future,  see  life's  avenues  stretching  out 
on  every  hand,  and  challenge  our  capacity  to  walk  in  this  or  that, 
we  come  to  a  profound  self-knowledge.  And,  as  I  told  you  in  the 
case  of  the  prospective  teller  or  cashier,  the  man  examines  what  he 
may  do  in  the  light  of  what  he  has  done,  the  spontaneous  acts  of  his 
life,  from  earliest  consciousness.  This  is  reflexive  knowledge.  What 
we  do,  shows  us  what  manner  of  spirit  we  are  of;  and  what  spirit 
we  are  of,  indicates  what  we  may  do.  The  Scripture  itself  enjoins 
this  careful  study  of  fitness  in  choosing  our  path  in  life.  It  says,  as 
of  natural  common-sense  precautions:  'What  man  of  you  intending 
to  build  a  tower,  sitteth  not  down  first  and  counteth  the  cost,  whether 
he  have  sufficient  to  finish  it?'" 

"And  of  all  these  who  hope,  and  strive,  and  wait,  and  seek  their 


334  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

way,  Marcus  Aurelius  says,  and  perhaps  the  truth :  '  They  are 
smoke,  ash,  a  tale,  and  perhaps  not  even  a  tale,'  "  said  Robert,  sadly. 
"  They  are  immortal  souls,  capable  of  a  magnificent  destiny,  whose 
lives  may  run  forever  parallel  to  the  life  of  God,"  said  the  Stranger, 
firmly. 

"  Let  us  now  consider  the  second  point,  the  Object  of  a  man's  Pur- 
suit," said  John  Frederick ;  "  and  I  will  begin  that  part  by  another 
quotation  from.  Marcus  Aurelius:  'Every  man  is  worth  just  so 
much  as  the  things  are  worth  about  which  he  busies  himself.'  Is 
that  true  ?  " 

"Yes,  it  is  true;  always  provided  that  we  have  a  just  standard 
for  measuring  the  worth  of  things,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"And  have  we  not  such  a  standard  ?  as  in  general  public  opinion, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  voice  of  God,"  cried  Henry. 

"  In  moral  matters,  in  matters  where  the  voice  of  Inspiration  has 
spoken  with  authority,  and  its  verdict  has  permeated  the  judgment 
of  mankind,  even  where  they  are  not  conscious  whence  that  sentence 
comes,  the  voice  of  the  people  may  be  indeed  the  echo  of  the  voice 
of  Qod.  But  in  matters  of  taste,  of  preference,  of  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  worldly  things,  imagination-  has  often  carried  reason  in 
chains.  Now,  Henry,  which  do  people  usually  consider  what  they 
call  'the  bigger  man,'  the  lawyer  or  the  farmer?  Which  is  supposed 
to  have  the  higher  place  ?  " 

"  Why — the  lawyer,"  said  Henry. 

"And  which  is  more  needful  to  the  prosperity  of  nations,  law  or 
agriculture?  On  which  is  the  superstructure  of  a  commonwealth 
built  ?  Which  came  first  to  man  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  Henry,  "  Bernardin  St.  Pierre  says  that  'the  pursuit 
of  agriculture  lies  at  the  base  of  all  public  felicity.' " 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Peter,  the  astute,  "  that  agriculture  represents 
the  ground  whereon  the  house  is  built,  and  law  the  cement  that  holds 
the  mason-work  together." 

"  Yes,"  drawled  Thomas,  "  once  you  stop  off  the  corn,  and  soon 
the  lawyer  won't  have  breath  enough  left  to  dispute." 


AVENUES  OPENING    ON  LIFE.  335 

"Still,"  said  John  Frederick,  who  intended  to  be  a  lawyer,  "I 
do  not  wish  to  see  law  undervalued.  Law  is  of  Divine  origin ;  all 
human  law  has  its  source  in  Divine  law;  in  being  capable  of  organ- 
izing and  ruling  by  law,  man  proves  that  he  is  the  offspring  of 
God." 

"And  that  is  all  true,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  it  is  not  to  depreciate 
law  that  we  exalt  agriculture.  The  finished  education,  the  severe 
application,  the  high  order  of  mind  needed  for  successful  pursuit  of 
law,  are  so  obvious,  that  men  have  hastily  concluded  that  law  is  a 
more  important  pursuit  than  husbandry ;  that  the  lawyer  is  more  im- 
portant to  his  day  than  the  farmer.  The  brilliancy  of  the  profession 
has  been  set  to  the  account  of  its  needfulness.  And  so  it  is,  indeed, 
needful ;  but  it  should  not  be  exalted  as  depreciating  simpler  labors. 
I  think  people  are  inclined  to  consider  that  a  man  who  has  gained  a 
great  lawsuit,  or  has  written  a  law  book,  has  done  something  worth 
living  for,  and  that  the  man  who  has  cleared  out  a  wilderness,  drained 
a  swamp,  made  barren  ground  fertile,  has  done  '  nothing  much.' 
Souvestre  mentions  an  old  Frenchman,  who  speaks  thus :  '  When  I 
came  here  this  land  was  a  thicket,  a  waste  place.  Now  the  wheat  of 
the  good  God  waves  everywhere.  When  I  see  this  harvest  covering 
the  slope  from  summit  to  river,  then  I  say  to  myself,  God  can  recall 
thee,  father  Job ;  thou  shalt  leave  a  work  behind  thee.'  There  is 
also  a  deal  of  truth  in  the  grim  self-assertion  of  Tennyson's 
'  Northern  Farmer,'  old  sinner  that  he  was : 

" '  But  Parson  a  comes  an'  a  goos,  an'  a'  says  it  eisy  an*  freea, 
The  Amoighty's  a  taakin  o'  you  to  'issen  my  friend  says  el, 
I  weint  saiy  men  be  loiars,  thof  summun  said  it  in  aSste: 
But  a  reads  vjonn  sarmin  a  weeak,  an'  I  stubbed  Thornaby  waasfe.'" 

"  On  what  must  we  base  our  judgments  of  the  worthiness  of  pur- 
suits ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  On  their  bearing  on  the  general  public  good  ;  their  necessity  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole ;  their  intrinsic  uprightness,  and  the  zeal 
and  honesty  wherewith  they  are  pursued.  Our  great  danger  in 


336  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

selecting  our  pursuit  in  life  is,  that  from  pride  and  warped  by  these 
popular  prejudices  of  men,  we  shall  despise  and  reject  common, 
necessaiy  pursuits  that  we  could  occupy  well  and  successfully,  and 
crowd  into  less  useful  and  hopeful  ways  where  there  is  too  much 
competition,  and  too  little  result.  In  a  work  called  La  Dernicre  Etape, 
it  is  written :  '  I  have  a  conviction  that  in  the  intellectual  and  moral 
order  there  are  needed  water-carriers,  who  furnish  for  the  needs  of 
the  day,  without  any  expectations  of  seeing  their  wares  bottled  and 
buried,  a  treasure  to  ripen  to  far-off  consulates'  " 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Robert,  "  that  the  reason  why  some  despise  these 
occupations,  that  belong  to  the  needs  of  every  day,  as  land-tilling, 
building,  machine  work,  mechanical  employments,  is,  that  they  do 
not  last  in  their  results.  The  house  gets  old,  and  is  behind  the 
fashion,  and  does  not  suit  the  next  generation,  and  so  it  is  pulled 
down  :  the  farm  is  sold  for  a  manufacturing  site ;  the  machines  are 
superseded  by  finer  ones.  But  the  work  of  the  artist,  the  book,  the 
picture,  the  statue  remain  to  be  admired  and  copied  in  all  coming 
time.  The  decision  in  the  hard-won  law  case  stands  recorded  as  a 
precedent ;  the  great  sermon  continues  the  model  for  generations  of 
preachers." 

"But  still,  Robert,  in  these  common  employments,  that  you  say 
are  superseded  in  their  results,  it  is  true  that  the  latter  day  learns  of 
the  former  day.  If  the  agriculturist  had  not  tilled  well,  the  country 
would  not  have  become  rich  enough  to  build  the  manufactory;  if  the 
house-builder  had  not  done  his  best  in  his  work,  the  taste  and  con- 
structive skill  of  the  next  generation  would  not  have  improved.  We 
call  the  machinists  of  a  century  ago  old-fashioned  and  makers  of 
clumsy  tools ;  but  that  work  was  a  part  in  the  long  succession  of 
progress,  and  make  possible  the  handicrafts  of  to-day.  Nothing  that 
is  well  done  dies.  I  must  read  you  another  quotation  on  this  point : 
'Ah,  cursed  be  human  pride  which  proportions  its  esteem  to  the 
kind  of  work,  and  not  to  the  thoroughness  of  the  worker;  which 
has  refused  equality  of  respect  to  an  equal  accomplishment  of  duty; 
which  has  put  the  modest  and  the  useful  under  the  feet  of  the  bril- 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  337 

liant  or  superfluous ;  disdaining  the  toiler,  to  whom  one  owes  the 
harvests,  in  order  to  glorify  the  artist  who  knows  how  to  paint  them.' 
As  Thomas  will  tell  you,  brain  needs  two  kinds  of  food  :  the  one 
purely  intellectual,  immaterial,  as  the  nectar  and  ambrosia  on  which 
the  gods  feasted,  but  the  other,  bread,  beef,  oats,  '  butter  of  milk,  and 
flesh  of  kine.'  We  should  have  no  brain  left  to  enjoy  author  or 
artist  if  the  farmer  had  not  first  fed  us  with  the  fruit  of  the  earth.  I 
think  the  attention  of  the  young  should  now  be  directed  to  these 
manual  occupations,  which  many  of  them  are  learning  to  despise, 
while  they  crowd  into  professions  and  besiege  government  offices. 
Agriculture  and  trades  are  the  bones  and  muscles  of  the  body  politic, 
and  if  these  are  neglected  all  else  will  shrivel  and  decay.  In  a  pecu- 
liar sense  earth  is  the  mother  of  us  all :  our  flesh,  our  wealth,  our 
loftiest  thoughts  must  first  be  brought  forth  for  us  from  the  tilling  of 
the  soil.  Side  by  side  with  this  tilling  of  the  soil  we  find  those 
trades  that  are  supported  by  and  needful  to  the  farmer :  the  building 
of  the  house  that  shelters  him;  the  manufacture  of  the  cloth  that 
clothes  him ;  the  fabrication  of  the  tools  that  he  uses ;  the  prepara- 
tion of  roadways  and  transportation  for  his  produce.  Well  does 
Saint  Paul  declare  this  principle  in  a  parable :  '  If  the  whole  body 
were  an  eye,  where  were  the  hearing  ?  if  the  whole  were  hearing, 
where  were  the  smelling  ?  .  .  .  Nay,  much  more  those  members  of 
the  body  that  seem  more  feeble  are  necessary ;  .  .  .  but  God  hath 
tempered  the  body  together,  having  given  more  abundant  honor  to 
the  part  which  lacked.'  And  as  for  agriculture,  which  is  the  main- 
spring of  all  prosperity,  the  first  of  its  operations  were  divinely  con- 
ducted when  'The  Lord  God  planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden.' " 

"  Then,  in  choosing  our  path  in  life,  we  must  not  be  warped  in  our 
judgment  by  any  popular  prejudices  ?  "  said  Henry. 

"  That  is  the  exact  point.  Ascertain  what  you  are  fit  for ;  'then  of 
the  several  things  that  you  may  be  fit  for,  what  is  fittest  for  you,  that 
in  which  your  health,  circumstances,  training  make  you  most  likely 
to  succeed.  Remember  that  any  honest  thing  is  honorable,  so  it  be 
honorably  and  thoroughly  pursued.  There  are  so  many  things  in 
22 


338  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

the  world  that  one  can  do  that  you  might  be  puzzled  to  make  your 
choice,  unless  you  began  by  the  common-sense  method  of  examining 
your  own  capacities,  and  the  indications  of  your  own  surroundings." 

"  What  are  some  of  these  many  things  to  do  ? "  asked  Robert. 
"  The  saddler  was  moaning  to-day  that  there  was  not  work  to 
offer  to  workers ;  no  ways  of  making  a  living." 

"  That  depends  upon  whether  or  not  they  are  captious.  If  they 
will  take  nothing  except  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  the 
majority  of  applicants  will  be  left  to  chew  the  bitter  cud  of  disap- 
pointment. If  they  will  not  accept  work  that  will  soil  the  hands, 
and  moisten  the  brow,  starvation  will  soon  be  an  important  factor  in 
our  affairs.  If  people  accept  honestly  the 'situation,  that  the  main- 
spring of  the  world  is  work,  and  are  not  ashamed  to  work  at  what 
they  are  capable  of,  then  all  will  have  enough  to  do.  Before 
you  lie  agriculture  and  commerce;  trades  and  professions;  public 
offices  and  manufactures;  and  each  of  these  have  a  thousand  varie- 
ties, especially  the  first  and  the  last.  Agriculture  develops  in  unlim- 
ited forms;  you  have  sheep-farming,  and  dairy-farming;  stock- 
raising  and  fruit-raising ;  vegetable  gardening  and  grain-growing. 
While  one  part  of  the  country  is  grass  land,  and  here  kine,  and  there 
horses,  and  there  hogs  are  reared,  another  portion  demands  the 
cultivation  of  corn,  cotton,  sugar,  rice,  wheat.  There  is  no  limit  to 
the  varied  development  of  agriculture  here,  because  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  variety  of  our  soil  and  climate.  Industry  and  intelligence 
will  be  spells  to  evoke  from  the  earth  new  possibilities,  of  which  we 
do  not  now  dream.  I  do  not  know  where,  all  other  things  being 
equal,  as  honesty  and  good  moral  influence,  you  will  find  a  more 
magnificent  benefactor  of  his  age  than  he  who  plants  a  thriving 
colony,  or  opens  a  wide  tract  of  new  land,  and  becomes  the  centre 
of  a  new  civilization.  The  pilgrim  fathers  were  a  very  plain  kind  of 
men,  farmers,  mechanics,  poor  in  purse,  and  hard  of  hand,  the  sort 
of  people  that  a  many  of  our  ambitious  young  folk  would  now  scorn 
to  be ;  while  yet  they  would  be  very  proud  to  trace  descent  to 
these  unostentatious  men,  who,  by  a  simple  doing  of  duty,  have  been 
lifted  into  fame  as  parents  of  empire." 


AVENUES  OPENING    ON  LIFE.  339 

"We  want  you,"  said  Catherine,  "to  tell  us  some  of  the  kinds  of 
work  that  we  may  find  in  the  world ;  and  how  to  fit  ourselves  for 
what  we  elect  to  do." 

"And  remember,"  said  Violet,  "that  we  girls  want  to  do  something 
as  well  as  the  boys.  We  do  not  all  intend  to  sit  at  home,  and  let 
our  parents  provide  for  us.  We  mean  to  go  to  work  for  ourselves." 

"  I  should  begin  with  those  things  that  are  especial  employments 
for  young  women.  Then  discuss  professions  open  to  both  men  and 
women.  Next  indicate  the  way  to  pursue  professions,  or  at  least  to 
prepare  for  them.  Then  talk  of  trades,  public  offices,  and  so  on. 
But  for  each  of  these  I  shall  want  a  separate  conversation.  To-day  I 
will  merely  tell  you  of  a  few  points  that  are  primary  to  all  progress, 
in  whatever  you  undertake.  Now  the  first  thing  that  I  will  say  is, 
that  if  you  mean  to  succeed  in  any  undertaking.you  must  devote  your- 
self zealously  to  it.  Put  your  whole  heart  in  it.  Success  is  a  jealous 
mistress,  and  is  not  to  be  won  if  you  devote  half  your  attention  to 
rival  shrines.  Anything  that  is  worth  being  chosen  as  an  occu- 
pation is  worth  being  heartily  pursued.  The  colored  brother  of  the 
poem,  had  the  spirit  of  the  Scripture  if  he  had  not  the  words,  when 
he  held  forth  thus  : 

"  '  My  sermon  will  be  berry  short, 
An'  dis  yere  am  de  tex' : 
Dat  half  way  doin's  ain't  no  'count, 
In  dis  worl'  nor  de  nexY 

In  fact,  Scripture  tell  us,  that  it  is  our  duty  first  to  be  fully  persuaded 
in  our  own  minds,  and  then  what  ever  we  do,  do  it  heartily ;  the 
Lord  making  himself  the  task-master  of  all  work,  however  humble. 

"  The  next  requisite  to  success  is  economy.  Industry  and  economy 
aqp  true  yoke-fellows.  Given  these  two,  every  man  will  get  a  com- 
petence, provided  of  course  that  he  has  health  to  labor,  and  is  not 
made  a  victim  of  other  men's  dishonesty.  Economy  presupposes  and 
includes  many  other  virtues  ;  as  self-restraint,  simple  habits  and  good 
judgment.  Beware  of  having  for  your  coat  of  arms  an  empty  purse. 
Why?  Is  poverty  a  crime?  Not  per  se,  but  it  is  frequently  the 


340  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

result  of  crime,  laziness  or  weakness.     Here  is  the  family  history  of 
an  empty  purse : 

f  Thoughtlessness. 
"  Its  Pedigree.      <J  Self-Indulgence. 
^Wastefulness. 
fWant 
"  Its  Posterity.     •{  Temptation. 

^  Crime. 

"  Now  add  to  industry  and  economy,  steadfastness  of  purpose,  and 
you  have  the  three  graces  of  business  life.  This  covers  my  third 
point.  We  have  considered,  first,  the  Individual ;  second,  the  Object 
of  his  Pursuit ;  and  now  third,  the  Pursuit  of  his  Object,  which,  as  I 
have  just  told  you,  must  be  accompanied  by  these  three  virtues  if  he 
means  to  attain  success.  I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  no  great 
reputation,  no  great  fortune,  no  honorable  career,  lacks  these  three 
qualities  on  its  record.  Here  are  three  plain  and  simple  moral  forces, 
obtainable  by  all ;  and  which,  if  you  possess,  you  may  defy  all  such 
melancholy  prognostications  as  those  uttered  this  morning  by  the 
saddler." 

"Then  the  saddler,  and  other  anxious  parents,"  said  Samuel, 
"  need  only  to  cultivate  in  their  families  these  principles,  which  are 
fundamental  to  prosperity,  and  they  may  look  on  their  future  as 
secured  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  of  course  it  being  understood  that  they  have  the  Ten 
Commandments  and  the  Alphabet  well  inculcated,  and  are  stoutly 
trained  in  common-sense." 

"  My  father  says,"  spoke  up  Thomas,  "that  one  reason  that  parents 
are  so  overborne  by  anxious  care  for  their  families  is,  that  they  de- 
sire too  much  for  them.  For  their  sons  and  daughters  they  do  not 
like  to  accept  the  plain,  quiet  fashions  of  life  that  they  have  pur- 
sued themselves.  They  want  to  give  their  children  fortunes  ready 
made." 

"And  that  is  often  the  worst  thing  that  they  can  do  for  them. 
Give  a  boy  a  fortune,  for  which  he  has  neither  toiled  nor  hoped,  and 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  341 

what  do  you  do  for  him  ?  You  bestow  on  him  money  of  which 
experience  has  not  taught  him  the  value ;  lightly  got,  it  will  be  lightly 
spent.  He  has  not  learned  economy  by  need  and  practice,  and  thus 
he  is  robbed  of  one  element  of  success.  In  this  fortune  you  give 
him  the  fruit  of  industry  without  the  exercise  of  industry.  He  has 
enough  without  working ;  and  here  you  rob  him  of  the  second  ele- 
ment of  success.  Add  to  this,  that  life  has  been  made  so  easy  to  the 
heir  of  a  fortune,  that  he  has  been  surfeited  with  pleasures,  and  so 
rendered  restless,  he  has  not  the  satisfaction  of  seeking  an  object,  and 
of  steadfastly  pursuing  it.  Why  should  he  ?  The  goal  of  most  men's 
lives  stands  at  the  beginning  of  his ;  so  you  have  robbed  him  of  that 
third  great  virtue,  tenacity  of  purpose.  Very  few  young  men  are 
able  to  resist  these  disadvantages  of  wealth.  If  they  escape  being 
dissipated,  they  often  sink  below  mediocrity.  While  wood-cutters, 
tailors,  canal  boys,  district  school-teachers,  reach  the  highest  offices 
of  state;  and  street  peddlers,  and  errand  boys,  and  captains  of  wherries 
rise  to  be  millionaires,  the  sons  of  the  millionaires  are  generally  not 
heard  from,  except  as  they  write  their  names  on  checks  that  represent 
inherited  fortunes." 

"  Why,  you  make  out  these  fortunes  to  be  a  disadvantage!" 

"At  least  they  are,  to  a  naturally  sensible  and  vigorous  boy,  so 
little  of  an  advantage,  that  his  parents  need  not  pine  to  bestow  them 
on  him." 

"  Would  you  say  fortunes  were  so  much  disadvantage  to  girls  ?  " 
asked  Laura. 

"  If  a  girl  has  ^ood  health,  and  a  good  education,  I  do  not  see 
that  she  particularly  needs  a  fortune.  A  girl  who  has  wealth  is  re- 
lieved from  the  idea  of  self-reliance,  and  she  is  removed  from  the 
exercise  of  economy  and  self-help.  She  also  becomes  the  object  of 
fortune-hunters.  She  seldom  learns  to  manage  business  for  herself, 
and  she  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  advice  of  others,  who  may  eventually 
plunder  her  of  her  all,  and  leave  her  far  more  unhappy  and  helpless 
than  if  she  had  all  her  life  been  poor.  If  it  should  turn  out  that 
her  fortune  had  been  the  means  of  her  marrying  some  rascal,  who 


342  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

cared  only  for  the  money,  who  misuses  her  while  he  dissipates  her 
property,  and  in  the  end  breaks  her  heart,  or  murders  her,  as  has 
often  been  done,  the  poor  girl  is  a  thousand  times  worse  off  for  her 
fortune.  Recall  Miss  Killmansegg: 

"  '  Gold,  still  Gold  !  hard,  yellow  and  cold. 
For  gold  she  had  lived,  and  she  died  for  gold. 

By  a  golden  weapon— not  oaken. 
In  the  morning  they  found  her  all  alone, 
Stiff  and  bloody,  and  cold  as  a  stone ; 
But  her  leg,  her  golden  leg,  was  gone, 
"And  the  golden  bowl  was  broken. 

Gold,  Gold !     Alas  for  Gold ! '  " 

"Therefore,"  said  Catherine,  "your  idea  is,  that  parents  should 
direct  their  efforts  to  making  their  children  good  and  happy.  Giv- 
ing them  the  best  preparation  that  they  may  for  their  future,  and 
trust  then,  that  they  will  not  come  to  misery  even  if  they  are  not  left 
with  a  fortune." 

"  That  is  what  I  mean.  The  business  and  aim,  the  great  care  of 
the  parent  should  be  to  create  in  the  child's  mind  the  idea  of  justice, 
and  then  his  life  will  and  must  eventuate  happily,  whatever  lies  be- 
tween the  cradle  and  the  grave.  I  quote  you  from  Plato :  '  This  is 
our  notion  of  the  really  just  man,  that  even  when  he  may  be  in  pov- 
erty or  sickness,  or  any  other  seeming  misfortune,  all  things  will  in 
the  end  work  together  for  good  to  him  in  life  or  death ;  for  the  gods 
have  a  care  of  any  one  whose  desire  is  to  be  just,  and  to  become 
like  God,  as  far  as  a  man  can  attain  his  likeness  by  the  pursuit  of 
virtue.' 

"And  now  lest  the  picture  of  Miss  Killmansegg  may  have  sad- 
dened you,  I  will  close  the  evening  by  reading  you  a  very  cheerful 
fragment  from  the  Spectator:  '  I  have  ten  children,  and  these  I  can- 
not but  regard  as  very  great  blessings.  In  what  a  beautiful  light  has 
the  holy  Scripture  represented  Abdon,  one  of  the  judges  of  Israel, 
who  had  forty  sons  and  thirty  grandsons,  that  rode  on  threescore 
and  ten  ass-colts,  according  to  the  magnificence  of  Eastern  countries1 


AVENUES  OPENING   ON  LIFE.  343 

How  must  the  heart  of  the  old  man  have  rejoiced,  as  he  saw  such  a 
beautiful  procession  of  his  own  descendants,  and  such  a  numerous 
cavalcade  of  his  own  raising !  For  my  own  part,  I  can  sit  in  my 
parlor  with  great  content,  when  I  take  a  review  of  my  half  a  dozen 
little  boys  mounted  on  their  hobby-horses,  and  of  as  many  little  girls 
tutoring  their  doll-babies,  each  of  them  endeavoring  to  excel  the  rest, 
and  to  do  something  to  win  my  favor  and  approbation.  I  cannot 
question  but  He  who  has  blessed  me  with  so  many  children  will 
aid  my  efforts  in  providing  for  them.  There  is  one  thing  I  am 
able  to  give  each  of  them,  which  is,  a  virtuous  education.  I  think  it 
is  Sir  Francis  Bacon's  observation,  that  in  a  numerous  family  of  chil- 
dren, the  eldest  is  often  spoiled  by  the  prospect  of  an  estate,  and  the 
youngest  by  being  the  darling  of  the  parents ;  but  that  some  one  or 
other  in  the  middle,  who  has  not  perhaps  been  regarded,  may  make 
his  way  in  the  world  and  overtop  the  rest.  It  is  my  business  to  im- 
plant in  every  one  of  my  children  the  same  seeds  of  industry  and 
honest  principles.  For  you  must  know,  sir,  that  from  long  experience 
and  observation,  I  am  persuaded  of  what  seems  a  paradox,  to  most 
of  those  with  whom  I  converse,  namely,  that  a  man  who  has  many 
children,  and  gives  them  a  good  education,  is  more  likely  to  raise  an 
honorable  family,  and  leave  himself  a  worthy  name,  than  he  who 
has  but  one  and  leaves  to  him  his  whole  estate.'" 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH. 

ESPECIAL   EMPLOYMENTS    FOR    WOMEN. 

[HE  September  talk  at  the  Bureau,"  said  Violet  to 
her   young   friends,   "will    belong    entirely   to   us 
girls.     The  subject  will  be  Especial  Employments 
for  Women,  and  I  am   resolved  that  these  young 
men  shall  be  kept  silent." 
"You  must  fill  their  mouths,  then,"  said  Catherine,  with  the  ex- 
haustive knowledge  of  masculinity  derived   from  having  for  over 
twenty  years  successfully  managed  five  brothers. 

"  That  is  what  I  mean  to  do,"  said  Violet.  "  I  propose  an  autumn 
feast.  We  will  prepare  and  serve  with  our  own  hands  such  a  dinner 
as  shall  prevent  any  extended  instructions  on  the  theme,  house- 
keeping, and  turn  the  talk  to  that  of  which  we  know  less." 

There  was  in  the  Stranger's  garden  a  wide  and  long  arbor  which 
now  hung  heavy  with  grapes  of  several  varieties.  In  this  arbor  did 
these  judicious  damsels  spread  a  great  table,  which  they  made  like 
unto  the  garden  of  Eden  in  that  it  had  all  that  was  pleasant  to  the 
eye  and  good  for  food.  The  seats  were  ranged  on  either  side  the 
table :  the  arm-chair  for  their  Mentor  stood  at  the  head,  and  a  bevy 
of  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  whose  turn  as  clients  of  the  Bureau 
had  not  yet  come,  were  drilled  and  uniformed  as  waiters. 

Two  o'clock  was  the  dinner  hour.     Three  saw  the   meal   finished 

and  the  last  plates  carried  away  by  the  young  Ganymedes.     Then 

fruit  and  other  dainties  were  set  before  the  girls,  and  Catherine  spoke  : 

"  Sir,  at  many  feasts,  after  dinner — wine,  and  the  ladies  disappear. 

(344) 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  345 

But  we  have  no  such  customs.  Instead  of  wine  we  will  have 
wisdom  ;  and  when  our  discussion  has  ended,  it  will  bring  sunset 
and  coffee." 

"And  our  subject  is  Especial  Employments  for  Women,"  said 
Laura. 

"Theyf;^/  is  housekeeping,"  said  the  Stranger,  mildly. 

"We  knew  you  would  say  that,"  spoke  up  Violet,  "and  we  have 
upon  our  tablets  arranged  a  list  of  what  a  woman  must  know  in 
regard  to  housekeeping." 

"  Begin  then,  Catherine,"  said  the  benign  instructor. 

"  She  must  know  how  all  kinds  of  food  must  be  cooked  and  pre- 
pared;  how  dishes  maybe  made  over;  how  food  maybe  provided 
one  day  for  the  next ;  how  stores  of  food  are  to  be  laid  up ;  how 
all  kinds  of  meat  are  to  be  cured ;  how  to  spice,  pickle,  preserve,  and 
make  jellies.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  how  to  make  a  pie  or  a 
sponge  cake  by  rule — but  the  true  housekeeper  is  an  inventive 
genius  and  a  sound  reasoner — she  must  be  apt  to  fashion  new  dishes 
from  material  on  hand ;  she  must  know  how  the  food  of  successive 
days  is  to  be  ordered  so  that  there  shall  always  be  enough  and  none 
to  waste.  The  housekeeper  must  be  wise  in  preparing  meals  to  suit  the 
status  of  her  family :  the  old,  the  delicate,  infants,  growing  children, 
workers,  idlers,  students,  out-door  toilers  all  need  different  kinds  of 
fare.  The  family  must  have  variety  without  surfeit.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  housekeeper  needs  not  only  know  how  the  whole  range  of  prep- 
arations from  soup  to  soap  shall  be  made,  but  in  the  best  way  and 
most  attractively  set  forth.  What  kinds  of  flavors  and  dishes  har- 
monize ;  how  they  should  follow  each  other ;  how  they  shall  be 
most  tastefully  served." 

Catherine  laid  down  her  note  paper,  and  Harriet,  with  the  greatest 
nonchalance,  took  up  the  theme  : 

"  The  housekeeper  must  understand  thoroughly  the  proper  se- 
quence of  work.  She  must  know  not  only  what  work  belongs  to 
each  season,  but  to  every  day  in  the  week,  and  hour  in  the  day.  This 
is  needful  to  prevent  all  jarring  or  neglecting  of  work,  and  to  make 


346  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

due  providing  possible.  She  must  be  a  person  of  foresight,  able, 
like  nature,  to  take  measures  against  a  famine  six  months  ahead. 
She  must  be  an  embodiment  of  order  and  punctuality ;  one  thousand 
and  ninety-five  times  each  year  she  must  have  a  meal  on  the  table  at 
the  exact  minute  set  for  it.  Three  hundred  and  sixty-five  bed- 
makings,  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  dustings,  the  same  number  of 
dessert-makings  ;  seven  hundred  and  twenty  openings  and  closings  of 
windows  and  blinds,  one  hundred  and  four  sweepings,  one  hundred 
and  four  bakings,  fifty-two  washings,  fifty-two  ironings,  fifty-two 
scrubbing  and  window-cleaning  days ;  four  yearly  providings  of* 
household  clothes,  four  packings  and  unpackings  of  garments  and 
family  bedding,  two  grand  house-cleaning  affairs,  are  a  few  of  the 
items  of  household  order  and  routine." 

Violet,  unabashed,  opened  her  tablet,  and  began  to  read :  "  The 
housekeeper  must  understand  all  kinds  of  cleaning.  How  to  clean 
glass,  china,  silver,  tin,  iron  and  wooden  ware;  how  to  clean  paint, 
lamps,  mirrors,  carpets,  furniture ;  how  washing  of  clothes,  laces, 
linens,  muslins  is  to  be  done.  She  needs  to  know  all  about  starching, 
fluting,  ironing.  The  housekeeper  also  understands  how  to  keep 
clean  cellars,  garrets,  closets,  drains,  sinks ;  how  to  combat  moths, 
dust,  cobwebs,  mould,  rust,  mildew.  She  must  know  all  the  uses  of 
brushes,  brooms,  dusters,  dust-pans,  soap,  sand,  bath-brick,  ammonia, 
lye,  rottenstone.  She  must  be  wise  to  erase  ink-stains,  finger-marks, 
grease-spots,  scratches,  scorches,  bruises,  fruit-stains,  water-stains ; 
how  to  make  and  mend." 

Laura,  with  much  gravity,  contributed  her  share  to  this  list: 

"The  housekeeper  must  know  how  to  make  the  most  out  of  a 
little  ;  how  to  save  and  spend  wisely.  She  must  understand  how  to 
entertain  company,  to  manage  her  servants,  to  make  her  family  com- 
fortable, to  direct  their  labors,  to  secure  time  for  everything,  to  visit 
her  acquaintances,  nurse  the  sick,  comfort  the  miserable.  She  must 
never  forget  anything,  never  lose  anything,  never  break  anything, 
never  be  supposed  to  be  tired,  or  cross,  or  out  of  patience." 

"What!  what!"  burst  forth  Peter.  "Who  could  ever  know  all 
this?" 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  347 

"All  housekeepers,"  said  Catherine,  sublimely — "  your  mother,  for 
instance,  friend  Peter." 

"  But  how  does  one  come  to  know  so  much?"  cried  George. 

"  By  learning,"  said  the  dimpled  Dora,  who  was  wont  to  reason  in 
small  circles. 

"  Then  I  say,"  said  Thomas,  "  if  a  woman  must  know  all  that,  she 
will  be  wiser  than  any  six  men,  and  she  does  not  need  to  know  any- 
thing else." 

Catherine  leaned  forward  and  gave  Thomas  a  large  peach,  and 
Violet,  with  much  coolness,  addressed  the  Stranger : 

"  Now,  sir,  that  is  a  part  of  what  we  understand  by  housekeeping, 
and  what  we  all  expect  to  know.  But  for  various  reasons  we  cannot 
all  exercise  this  knowledge.  There  may  be  two,  five,  seven  daugh- 
ters in  a  family,  and  their  mother  in  good  health  :  that  will  be  too 
many  to  keep  one  house.  We  shall  not  all  marry  and  have  a  house 
of  our  own,  because,  in  the  first  place,  there  is  a  surplus  of  women, 
and  in  the  second  place,  we  think  many  men  do  not  know  how  to 
treat  housekeepers,  if  they  are  their  wives.  For  doing  all  this  work 
the  wife  gets — her  board  and  clothes;  and  as  for  the  clothes,  she 
must  ask  and  explain  over  every  dollar  she  spends  on  them,  and  very 
likely  not  get  it  when  she  wants  it.  The  Bridgets  in  the  kitchen  are 
more  independent  than  the  ladies  in  the  parlor.  Many  men  keep  all 
their  money  affairs  to  themselves,  and  the  wives  do  not  know  what 
need  there  is  for  economy,  and  so  are  accused  of  extravagance ;  or 
they  stint  themselves  when  there  is  no  reason  for  it.  People  do  not 
enjoy  working  thus  in  the  dark." 

"  There  is  truth  in  what  you  say,  Violet,"  said  the  Stranger.  "And 
I  admit  that  this  kind  of  dealing  is  very  unfair.  The  husband  who 
manages  the  business  without,  and  the  wife  who  administers  the  busi- 
ness within,  should  be  equal  partners.  All  monetary  affairs  should 
be  equally  known  to  both;  the  judgment  of  both  should  be  brought 
to  bear  on  all  economic  questions.  If  a  woman  is  fit  to. have  the 
care  of  a  man's  children,  she  is  fit  to  have  free  access  to  his  purse. 
A  man  who  always  debates,  refuses,  grudges,  denies  his  wife's  re- 


348  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

quests  for  money,  is  acting  a  narrow  and  unmanly  part.  Unless  the 
wife  has  shown  herself  to  be  extravagant,  and  of  incurably  bad  judg- 
ment, when  all  the  family  and  pecuniary  affairs  are  well  known  to 
her,  her  decisions  in  her  own  province  should  not  be  questioned. 
No  man  should  expect  his  wife  to  ask,  like  a  child,  for  every  penny 
that  she  wants.  She  should,  on  consultation  with  her  husband,  set- 
tle the  sum  needed  for  her  expenses  in  the  family,  and  personally, 
and  this  should  always  be  at  her  service." 

"All  this  that  should  be  often  is  not,"  said  Violet,  "  and  many  an 
independent  woman  has  married,  to  find  herself  a  helpless  dependant. 
She  may  have  had  her  private  fortune,  her  widow's  jointure,  or  her 
simple  earnings,  and  she  marries  to  have  the  pleasure  of  asking  for 
money  to  buy  a  spool  of  thread !  Now  for  these  various  reasons, 
that  there  are  too  many  of  us,  that  there  are  more  housekeepers  than 
houses,  and  that  unpaid  housework  does  not  suit  some  of  us,  we 
must  find  other  employments,  and  we  want  them  discussed  to-day." 

"  Before  we  enter  on  these  employments  that  you  desire  to  hear 
of,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  I  will  say  a  word  or  two  on  the  business  of 
housczvork  for  young  women.  Once,  respectable  young  women,  who 
must  make  their  own  way  in  the  world,  were  not  ashamed  to  go  out 
to  do  housework.  They  gave  their  time,  their  strength,  their  skill, 
for  so  much  per  week,  and  were  respected  in  it,  and  self-respecting. 
Now,  they  scorn  the  idea  of  service." 

"  One  reason  for  that,"  said  Catherine,  "  is,  that  a  vast  flood  of 
emigrants,  ignorant,  rough,  ill-mannered,  of  an  aggressive  religion, 
have  come  into  the  kitchens  of  the  country,  and  American  girls  do 
not  want  to  be  thrust  into  their  company,  nor  classed  with  them. 
They  have  lowered  the  respectability  of  domestic  service." 

"Another  reason  is,"  added  Laura,  "that  mistresses  grew  over- 
bearing, and  often  treated  their  girls  scornfully,  and  in  addition  to  the 
hard  work  gave  them  hard  fare,  and  poor  rooms.  I  have  ^een  ser- 
vants' rooms,  even  in  rather  wealthy  families,  where  no  nice  girl 
would  be  willing  to  lodge.  No  carpet,  no  bowl  and  pitcher,  all  the 
old  worn-out  bedding  in  the  house,  no  curtains,  an  old  stand,  and  an 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  349 

older  chair.  Not  a  closet,  drawer  or  bureau,  even  no  lock  on  the 
door:  up  under  the  eaves,  hot  in  summer,  freezing  in  winter;  a 
girl  who  can  do  better  will  not  endure  it." 

"  That  is  true  in  many  instances,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  places 
in  our  rural  districts  where  all  is  different.  Our  best  farmers'  fami- 
lies would  take  a  respectable  girl,  as  one  of  themselves ;  they  give 
her  a  room  with  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  family,  or  as  good  as 
they  have.  She  sits  at  the  table,  is  treated  as  the  others  are,  goes  to 
church  with  the  household,  is  helped  with  the  work,  dresses  herself 
and  sits  down  with  them  when  the  work  is  done.  And  although  in 
such  a  situation  she  would  be  far  healthier  and  happier,  and  more 
useful,  and  prepare  better  for  her  future,  the  girl  will  take  a  place  in 
a  factory,  or  a  store,  or  a  sewing-room,  where  she  will  not  live  half 
as  well,  and  will  sacrifice  her  health,  all  from  a  false  pride  about 
going  out  to  service.  This  foolish  pride  sends  hundreds  of  girls  out 
from  country  neighborhoods,  where  they  would  be  safe  and  health- 
ful, and  finally  make  a  decent  settlement  in  life,  to  risk  their  health 
and  morals  in  crowded  cities.  The  shop  girls  get  four,  six,  or  eight 
dollars  a  week,  for  twelve  hours  hard  work  in  close  air,  standing  all 
the  time,  lifting  heavy  goods;  no  holidays;  on  Sundays  too  dead 
tired  to  go  to  church.  They  pay  from  four  to  six  dollars  weekly  for 
plain  enough  boarding.  They  are  expected  to  dress  as  if  they  had 
ten  dollars  a  week  for  dress,  while  out  of  merely  two  or  four  dollars, 
they  must  see  to  washing,  sewing,  clothes,  medicine,  all  extras.  The 
legitimate  end  is  a  coffin,  a  hospital,  or  the  almshouse.  But  pride 
requires  this  sacrifice." 

"  It  is  a  foolish  prejudice,"  said  Dora.  "  But  most  of  the  poor 
American  girls  about  here  would  rather  go  without  clothes  than 
earn  them  in  a  kitchen ;  or  if  they  do  live  out,  they  are  so  anxious 
to  assert  themselves,  that  no  mistress  can  endure  their  impertinence. 
They  forget  that  people  who  pay  the  wages  have  a  right  to  give  the 
orders." 

"  The  next  most  ordinary  and  natural  business  for  women,"  said 
the  Stranger,  "  is,  I  suppose,  sewing.  Women  seem  to  handle  a 


350  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

needle  by  instinct.  Did  you  ever  think  what  an  enormous  amount 
of  needlework  is  done  every  year  in  the  world — and  nearly  all  by 
women  ?  Think  of  the  thousands  of  warehouses  of  ready-made 
clothing  of  all  kinds;  of  the  millions  of  human  beings  all  furnished 
with  garments ;  of  the  untold  chests  and  drawers  full  of  extra  cloth- 
ings for  billions ;  dozens  of  dresses,  and  dozens  of  shirts  for  individual 
owners.  Next  think  of  the  millions  of  housekeepers  who  have 
trunks,  and  closets,  stored  with  sheets,  quilts,  table-cloths,  napkins, 
towels,  pillow-cases  and  covers,  bolster-cases,  curtains,  toilette 
draperies.  Consider,  too,  what  innumerable  articles  are  yearly  worn 
out,  and  burned  up,  and  as  often  replaced  ;  the  incalculable  variety  of 
articles  for  use  and  for  beauty,  all  the  product  of  women's  scissors 
and  needles  !  " 

"  I  never  thought  of  it  before  !  "  exclaimed  John  Frederick.  "Why 
with  all  this  needlework,  all  the  sewing  of  a  world  to  do,  how  can 
women  expect  to  do  anything  else  ?  " 

Violet  selected  a  fine  bunch  of  grapes  and  presented  it  to  John 
Frederick. 

"  Much  sewing  as  there  is  to  be  done,"  said  Catherine,  "there  are 
more  than  enough  to  do  it.  It  is  not  a  paying  occupation,  except  to 
a  few  popular  dress-makers.  It  is  also  a  very  unhealthy  employ- 
ment. Thousands  of  women  are  slaving  from  ten  to  fifteen  hours  a 
day,  destroying  eyesight,  and  even  life ;  and  for  their  hard  slop- 
sewing  they  are  earning  from  twenty  to  forty  cents  a  day — some  in- 
deed only  ten.  Hundreds  of  widows  and  orphan  girls  are  trying  to 
get  sewing  to  do,  and  are  living  in  debt  and  destitution.  If  they  do 
better  than  this  it  is  often  by  the  ruin  of  their  constitutions,  and  they 
end  in  a  hospital  or  a  poor-house.  There  must  be  better  ways  open 
to  us  than  the  way  of  the  needle  and  thread." 

"And  yet,  let  me  suggest,  if  the  seamstresses  in  our  rural  districts, 
and  our  villages,  and  smaller  cities,  would  be  prompt,  civil,  obliging, 
reasonable  in  terms,  keep  their  word,  and  exercise  a  proper  amount 
of  neatness  and  judgment  in  their  work,  they  would  make  their 
business  better  by  half  than  it  is.  The  next  occupation  that  I  will 
mention  is,  nursing  the  sick." 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  851 

"A  great  many  women  seem  to  fancy  that  if  they  are  too  idle  or 
too  dumb  for  anything  else,  they  can  be  sick-nurses,"  said  Laura. 

"But  nursing  should  be  a. profession,  carefully  learned,  and  should 
stand  next  to  medicine,"  said  Catherine.  "  Ignorant  nurses  should 
not  be  allowed  to  prey  on  the  community." 

"  You  are  right,  Catherine,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Once  any  man 
who  had  money,  and  could  read  or  guess  at  the  meaning  of  a  pre- 
scription, could  be  an  apothecary.  The  State  was  obliged  to  shelter 
its  citizens  from  ignorant  druggists,  and  it  will  one  day  realize  that 
it  must  also  protect  them'  from  ignorant  nurses,  and  then  nurses  will 
be  trained  and  licensed." 

"And  what  do  you  think  of  it  for  a  woman's  work  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  Well  of  it  indeed.  It  is  an  employment  in  the  best  interests  of 
humanity,  and  peculiarly  suited  to  the  dispositions  of  women,  as 
they  have  more  patience,  and  quicker  intuitions  and  sympathies  than 
most  men.  But  a  woman  should  have  the  requisite  qualifications  for 
this  business,  and  be  sure  she  is  fitted  naturally  to  be  a  nurse." 

"What  are  those  qualifications  ?"  asked  Harriet. 

"  She  should  have  deep  natural  sympathies,  and  great  self-control. 
Nurses  cannot  be  women  who  scream  at  the  sight  of  blood,  or  faint 
at  a  groan :  they  must  have  a  profound  sense  of  duty  and  strong 
nerve  power.  The  nurse  must  have  a  gentle,  dexterous  hand,  a 
pleasing  voice,  a  first-rate  memory,  and  a  sound  judgment.  She 
must  have  a  cheerful  heart  and  face,  a  light  step,  easy  movements, 
and  quickness  of  thought.  She  needs  tact,  too,  and  great  presence 
of  mind.  She  should  be  able  to  decipher  prescriptions  ;  also  a  good 
reader,  as  she  may  need  to  read  to  her  patient.  She  must  write  a 
good  hand,  as  she  is  sometimes  to  be  the  patient's  scribe.  The  more 
general  information  she  has  the  better.  She  is  to  be  the  patient's 
company  during  the  weariness  of  convalescence.  She  must  be  of  a 
sweet  temper,  no  gossip ;  have  untiring  patience,  be  a  light  sleeper, 
and  have  a  sound  constitution.  The  nurse  should  also  be  a  religious 
woman  :  she  will  be  called  to  minister  to  the  dying,  and  to  comfort 
the  mourner:  ;  she  must  be  pious  and  not  fanatical." 


852  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  To  be  a  nurse  then  demands  some  of  the  finest  qualities  that  a 
woman  can  possess,"  said  Catherine.  "  Now  what  are  the  things 
that  she  must  learn  to  fit  her  for  her  profession  ?  " 

"  The  training  of  every  good  nurse  begins  at  home.  Common- 
sense  or  judgment  must  be  developed.  Knowledge  about  a'ring 
rooms,  cleaning  them,  making  beds,  well  airing  clothing  and  bed- 
ding, and  graduating  light  for  feeble  eyes  must  come  to  be  a  second 
nature  to  her.  She  must  learn  all  about  making  ready  food  for  the 
sick,  serving  it  very  attractively,  and  preparing  medicine  in  the  least 
unpalatable  way.  These  things,  with  the  first  lessons  in  nursing, 
every  young  woman  who  has  a  home  learns  in  that  home.  There 
she  gets  her  first  experience  in  her  responsible  business." 

"As  experience  is  needed,  I  suppose  a  nurse  should  not  be  very 
young,"  said  Dora. 

"  I  think  it  unadvisable  for  a  woman  to  undertake  the  office  of  a 
nurse,  outside  of  the  immediate  circle  of  her  relatives,  before  she  is 
twenty-eight  or  thirty  years  of  age.  The  duties  of  this  position  are 
so  arduous,  that,  before  entering  it,  the  strength  and  elasticity  of  one's 
constitution  need  to  be  assured.  Also  experience  is  needed,  and  often 
the  exercise  of  authority,  while  it  is  for  the  advantage  of  the  patient 
to  be  able  to  rely  on  the  force  and  sound  judgment  of  the  nurse's 
character.  Such  reliance  will  not  be  felt  if  the  nurse  is  a  very 
young  girl." 

"And  when  one  has  the  suitable  natural  qualities,  the  home  ex- 
perience, and  the  proper  age,  how  is  one  to  learn  the  very  many 
practical  things  that  make  up  the  thorough  nurse  ?  " 

"  I  might  tell  you  what  advice  I  once  gave  to  a  lady — " 

"  O,  yes — do ;  that  will  be  interesting,"  said  Dora. 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  a  stranger  asking  my  counsel.  She  said 
she  was  thirty-two,  childless,  the  widow  of  a  physician,  and  thrown 
on  herself  for  support.  She  had  during  her  husband's  life  learned 
something  of  medicine  from  his  conversation,  and  from  reading  his 
books.  She  had  always  liked  nursing,  and  desired  to  devote  herself 
to  it.  But  she  wished  to  be  a  thoroughly  skilful  nurse.  Her  whole 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  36« 

property  amounted  to  three  hundred  dollars.  How  with  this  could 
she  study  her  chosen  business,  support  herself  and  make  an  entrance 
into  paying  work  ?  She  lived  far  out  West." 

"  Well,  what  did  you  write  her?  "  demanded  Violet. 

"  I  told  her  to  get  from  her  minister,  and  from  one  or  two  of  her 
own  and  her  husband's  friends,  recommendations  of  character,  educa- 
tion and  personal  qualifications.  Then  to  write  to  the  matron  or 
physician  in  charge  of  a  hospital,  under  the  auspices  of  her  own 
denomination,  in  one  of  our  Eastern  cities,  telling  them  her  wishes, 
and  what  opportunities  she  possessed,  and  offering  her  services  as  a 
nurse  in  their  institution,  free  of  charge,  asking  only  in  return  her 
board  and  washing,  and  certain  hours  each  day  to  attend  medical 
lectures  while  the  medical  schools  for  women  were  in  session.  Her 
three  hundred  dollars  would  pay  her  fare  East,  and  judiciously  ex- 
pended, if  she  made  her  own  clothing,  would  provide  for  her  ward- 
robe during  a  three  years'  apprenticeship  ;  while  there  was  no  doubt 
that  after  two  years  of  hospital  experience,  and  medical  lectures,  she 
could  get  a  salary  for  the  third  year.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  recom- 
mended by  the  hospital  directors,  and  by  the  physicians  with  whom 
she  had  become  acquainted,  she  could,  as  a  thoroughly  skilled  nurse, 
find  all  the  business  she  needed  at  the  highest  prices.  If  one  hospital 
did  not  afford  her  all  the  variety  of  experience  that  she  demanded, 
she  could  exchange  into  another,  during  a  part  or  the  whole  of  her 
third  year." 

"  That  was  good,  practical  advice,"  said  Samuel ;  "  but  I  see  you 
required  of  her  as  long  a  course  of  study  as  it  takes  to  make  a 
doctor,  or  a  preacher." 

"And  why  not  ?  "  said  the  Stranger.  "  Human  life,  the  dearest 
hopes  of  families,  are  in  the  hands  of  nurses,  and  it  is  appalling  to 
think  of  ignorant  tyros  meddling  with  such  mysteries." 

Samuel  was  about  to  say  something  further,  but  Harriet  pushed 
under  his  hand  a  plate  of  macaroons. 

"Among  other  instances  where  the  force  of  character  and  the 
sound  judgment  of  a  nurse  are  demanded,  I  would  especially  notice 


364  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

cases  of  contagious  disease.  By  the  carelessness  of  nurses,  and 
physicians,  and  families,  diseases  that  should  have  been  confined  to 
the  spot  where  they  originated,  or  first  appeared,  are  allowed  to 
spread  and  devastate  neighborhoods.  Before  a  disease  has  fairly  de- 
veloped itself,  and  while  it  may  be  anything  that  is  dangerous,  neigh- 
bors are  allowed  to  come  and  go ;  the  children  run  on  errands  to 
the  stores,  or  attend  school;  milkmen,  grocers' boys,  washerwomen 
enter  and  leave  the  house,  and  the  seeds  of  the  worst  plagues  of 
our  race  are  sown  over  a  whole  community.  Then,  where  a  disease 
assumes  its  most  pronounced  character,  the  recklessness  merely 
changes  its  form  of  exhibition.  The  members  of  the  family  remain 
at  home,  and  visitors  are  no  more  allowed ;  but  when  the  house  is 
aired,  very  likely  windows  or  doors  are  opened  to  the  thoroughfare, 
and  other  doors  open  at  the  rear,  where  the  wind  is  entering  the 
house,  and  the  spores  of  death  are  blown  over  every  passer-by." 

"  Well,  the  house  must  be  aired"  said  Catherine.  "  This  death 
has  to  be  out  some  time,  and  the  longer  the  place  is  shut  up,  the 
worse  for  those  within,  and  for  the  neighborhood  too.  What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?" 

"  You  must  send  it  up"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  up  into  the  rarer 
air  over  the  housetops,  where,  heaven  grant,  it  may  be  swept  far 
away." 

"  I  don't  quite  understand  you,"  said  Harriet. 

"  The  nurse  in  charge  of  a  house  where  there  is  small-pox,  yellow,, 
scarlet,  typhoid  or  typhus  fever,  diphtheria,  or  kindred  diseases, 
should  air  the  house  every  hour  in  the  day,  without  driving  the 
disease  upon  the  street,  or  into  adjoining  dwellings.  The  sky-light 
must  be  opened  in  the  roof,  and  kept  open ;  and  if  the  highest  garret 
window  does  not  give  on  somebody  else's  garret,  it  must  come  out. 
Then  a  door  must  be  opened  below,  and  the  air  will  sweep  up 
through  the  house,  and  out  at  the  roof;  it  cannot  come  down.  But 
this  is  not  all :  fires  must  be  lit  in  tlv  fireplaces,  even  if  it  is  summer; 
if  the  weather  is  hot,  a  light,  blazing  fire  twice  a  day  will  ventilate 
sufficiently." 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  356 

"  But  suppose  there  are  no  fire-places  ?  "  said  Catherine ;  "  and 
suppose  the  stoves  are  all  out  for  summer,  or  that  people  have  a 
furnace  ?" 

"  Here  is  a  demand  for  the  judgment,  invention,  authority  of  a 
wise  nurse.  The  paper,  or  the  tin  caps  that  fill  up  the  stovepipe 
holes,  must  come  off,  and  in  every  one  a  little  open  lamp,  or  a  burn- 
ing candle,  must  be  set,  to  create  a  current  up  the  chimney.  Or,  an 
opening  must  be  made  into  the  chimney  in  one  or  two  rooms,  and  a 
large  lamp  must  be  kept  burning  there  constantly.  Add  to  this 
chloride  of  lime,  copperas  and  water,  carbolic  acid,  and  other  disin- 
fectants must  be  freely  distributed,  and  lye  and  soda  must  be  used 
in  the  household  work.  The  vigilant  nurse  must  see  to  the  com- 
plete cleanliness  of  the  entire  house;  not  a  pot-closet,  nor  a  swill-tub, 
nor  a  filthy  dish-cloth,  must  be  left  to  breed  pestilence.  She  is  armed 
not  with  the  terrors  of  the  law,  but  with  man's  dread  of  death,  and 
if  she  is  wise  and  skilful,  she  will  be  obeyed.  But  another  great 
error  in  houses  that  should  be  in  quarantine  is,  in  the  conduct  of 
the  family  washing.  The  clothes  of  the  patient,  and  the  bedding 
also,  come  into  the  wash  loaded  with  disease.  In  millions  of  cases 
the  suds  from  such  clothes,  though  permeated  with  destruction,  are 
allowed  to  run  out  in  an  uncovered  drain;  to  soak  into  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  or  to  ripple  to  the  general  sewer,  after  going  for 
half  a  sqtiare,  open  to  the  feet  and  clothing  of  every  passer-by. 
Nothing  can  be  more  disastrous.  Cities  are  thus  paved  with  death ; 
the  case  of  virulent  erysipelas  that  should  remain  sole,  becomes  fifty; 
so  of  other  diseases.  The  wise  nurse  would  see  to  it,  not  only  that 
in  the  washing  free  use  was  made  of  disinfectants,  and  of  chemicals 
that  would  destroy  disease  spores,  but  that  not  one  particle  of  the 
water  used  should  be  allowed  to  run  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
If  no  other  way  is  open,  a  pit,  ten  feet  deep,  should  be  dug,  and  kept 
covered,  and  the  water  thrown  here  will  be  absorbed  into  the  soil, 
too  low  down  for  danger.  Only  take  heed  that  it  is  not  near  a  well 
or  cistern.  A  nurse  should  also  see  that  not  an  atom  of  waste,  or 
water,  or  slop  of  any  kind,  from  the  house  where  there  is  disease 


366  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

should  be  thrown  into  any  sewer,  drain  or  vault  without  being  at 
once  followed  by  quick-lime,  hot  lye  water,  chloride  of  lime,  or 
copperas.  An  ounce  of  prevention  will  here  be  worth  many  pounds 
of  cure." 

"  My  father  says,"  remarked  Thomas,  "  that  the  subject  of  quaran- 
tine is  not  yet  understood.  We  need  it  not  only  from  yellow  fever 
districts,  and  small-pox  towns,  or  foreign  plague  ports,  but  villages, 
streets  and  houses  where  there  are  contagious  diseases  should  be 
put  under  rigorous  quarantine.  Often  children  will  be  sent  to  school 
from  houses  where  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  or  measles  are,  and  these 
diseases  will  spread  and  cause  the  death  of  many  children.  Father 
told  me  of  one  case,  where  a  child  who  had  died  of  diphtheria  was 
splendidly  laid  out,  and  nearly  two  hundred  school  children  were 
permitted  to  'go  and  see  the  corpse,'  and  of  these  thirty  died  within 
a  month.  This  is  shocking,  but  a  fact." 

"  We  are  but  learners  on  all  great  subjects  relating  to  public  health," 
said  the  Stranger ;  "  and  we  are  so  afraid  that  personal  liberty  will  be 
trenched  on,  that  quarantine  laws,  and  other  preventive  measures,  are 
not  yet  openly  canvassed,  and  thoroughly  enforced.  We  shall  be- 
come wiser  to  the  prolongation  of  life." 

"  What  is  the  next  business  that  we  shall  discuss  for  women  ?  " 

"  Let  us  take  teaching,  as  one  to  which  most  generally  they 
resort." 

"That  includes  country  and  public  schools,  academies,  girls'  col- 
leges, music,  painting,  governessing,  receiving  private  pupils,"  said 
Violet.  "  Varieties  enough,  one  would  think,  and  yet  there  are  so 
many  teachers,  so  many  girls  studying  for  this  occupation,  so  many 
hundreds  graduating  every  year,  with  diplomas  guaranteeing  that 
they  can  teach  everything,  that  at  least  a  third  of  the  applicants  fail 
to  find  places." 

"  That  is  indeed  true.  Very  much  higher  education  is  now  de- 
manded for  a  teacher  than  would  suffice  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  ; 
and  yet  often  when  a  young  woman  graduates  from  a  college  or 
university  with  a  diploma,  the  result  of  at  least  ten  years  of  hard 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOE    WOMEN.  357 

study,  and  possessing  also  the  warm  commendations  of  her  teachers, 
she  finds  it  difficult  to  get  a  position  where  she  can  decently  maintain 
herself.  The  demands  of  schools  are  often  extravagant,  especially 
when  the  salary  offered  is  considered.  Thus  :  here  is  a  three  hun- 
dred dollar  place  for  a  Latin  teacher;  a  college  graduate,  of  course. 
Well,  here  is  a  graduate  who  led  her  class.  Very  good.  But  our 
Latin  teacher  must  take  the  FRENCH,  and  one  who  takes  the  French 
must  have  spent  at  least  two  years  in  Paris.  Have  you  done  that? 
Impossible.  I  am  twenty-two,  and  have  taken  a  full  course  in  a 
leading  State  university.  When  could  I  have  been  two  years  in  Paris? 
Or  here  is  another  place  open,  CLASSICS  and  BELLES-LETTRES  ;  and  here 
is  your  graduate,  valedictorian,  first-class  girl  in  every  way.  But — 
can  you  sing  f  Our  teacher1  in  these  branches  must  also  lead  the 
singing,  and  give  the  vocal  lessons  to  beginners.  These  are  a  few 
of  the  exhibitions  of  the  idiocy  of  the  times,  and  the  absurdities 
involving  the  whole  subject  of  teaching  and  education." 

"  Well,  this  is  very  discouraging,"  said  Harriet.  "  Teaching  is 
considered  one  of  the  most  reputable,  natural,  and  proper  ways  in 
which  a  young  woman  can  support  herself;  she  is  not  likely  to  lose 
her  health  as  in  sewing ;  or  her  caste  as  in  housework,  nor  be  subject 
to  such  annoyances  as  in  clerking ;  and  yet  I  suppose  these  very 
advantages  have  caused  girls  to  crowd  into  the  teacher's  profession, 
until  where  a  hundred  teachers  are  needed,  there  are  a  hundred  and 
twenty  offered." 

"  One  trouble  is,  that  people  fail  to  make  that  critical  examination 
of  themselves  and  their  abilities  that  I  commended  to  you  a  month 
ago.  If  people  would  but  honestly  examine  themselves,  to  see  what 
they  are  fit  for,  no  profession  would  be  so  over-crowded,  as  now* 
nearly  all  are.  The  girl  that  really  is  best  fitted  for  housework,  and 
should  in  some  farm  or  village  family  get  a  place  which  she  can  really 
///,  and  be  valued  in,  insists  on  teaching  the  district  school.  It  is 
a  position  that  she  can  but  half  hold ;  her  pupils  do  not  improve, 
parents  criticise,  trustees  rebuke  her.  The  youngsters  see  their  ad- 
vantage, and  keep  her  on  a  mental  rack  to  hold  even  a  half  mastery 


368  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

over  them.  She  is  a  failure,  and  feels  it  keenly.  She  is  unhappy, 
always  a  teacher  of  the  lowest  grade,  and  half  the  time  out  of  a  school 
and  living  on  her  relations ;  while  the  half  the  time  that  she  is  in 
school,  she  is  keeping  out  some  person  really  well  fitted  to  teach, 
who  would  give  the  pupils  a  true  desire  for  scholarship." 

"  Then,  if  we  want  to  teach,  I  suppose  we  must  study  ourselves, 
and  see  if  we  have  nerve  power,  ability  to  convey  information,  a  love 
of  knowledge  to  communicate  to  our  pupils,  a  power  to  govern  them 
and  ourselves,  thoroughness  in  acquiring,  and  a  real  liking  for  the 
vocation,"  said  Laura. 

"  Laura,  my  child,  in  saying  these  things  you  prove  that  you  have 
the  native  material  of  the  teacher.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  things 
ourselves,  we  must  have  the  power  of  conveying  what  we  know  to 
others.  It  is  not  enough  to  absorb  knowledge — sponge-like;  we  must 
have  capacity  to  dispense  it — fountain-like." 

"Well,  sir,  if  we  do  mean  to  teach,  what  then?"  said  Dora. 

"  Study  what  you  mean  to  teach,  and  become  proficient  in  it.  All 
professions  represent,  at  the  end,  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  If  it  is 
art,  or  vocal  or  instrumental  music,  be  thorough  in  your  acquire- 
ments. Know  what  you  pretend  to  know ;  don't  offer  unbeaten  oil 
on  the  shrine  of  learning.  If  you  propose  to  teach  in  public  or  dis- 
trict schools,  as  I  told  you  long  ago,  get  your  fit  at  Normal  schools. 
Get  into  the  track  that  you  mean  to  move  in,  and  keep  in  it.  When 
you  undertake  to  teach  the  simplest  lesson,  study  it.  I  would  not 
offer  to  instruct  the  smallest  child  in  the  A,  B,  C,  without  taking  up 
the  alphabet  first,  to  see  if  I  could  get  some  new  light  on  it  for  the 
new  pupil.  In  truth,  the  earliest  teachings  are  the  most  important 
teachings.  Here  you  can  make  children  love  or  hate  learning;  be 
quick  or  slow  at  acquiring.  If  they  are  to  begin  to  exercise  thought 
on  their  lessons,  you  must  teach  them  how  to  do  that.  No  task 
is  so  trivial  that  you  cannot  knit  it  to  something  higher,  if  you 
will  set  yourself  to  study  it  diligently.  If  you  despise  teaching 
or  hate  it,  or  use  it  as  a  makeshift,  because  you  must  have  gloves 
and  bonnets,  then  earn  these  articles  in  some  other  way,  and 


ESPECIAL   EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  359 

let   the    real  teaching    genius    have   your    place    and    instruct   the 
child." 

"  I  don't  see  how  so  much  could  be  made  out  of  the  alphabet," 
said  Dora. 

"  Let  me  give  you  two  instances :  A  child  was  brought  to  me  with 
the  information  that  in  three  months  he  had  not  mastered  the  alpha- 
bet. He  looked  uninterested  in  the  whole  affair.  I  pondered  a  while 
over  the  ragged,  dirty  page.  I  said,  '  This  is  an  ugly  page;  wouldn't 
you  like  to  read  in  the  back  of  the  book  ? ' 

" '  I  don't  care  for  all  the  book,'  he  said ;  '  I  know  all  that's  in  it. 
I've  heard  the  boys  read  it  lots  of  times.  Here,  over  here,  it  says : 
•"  This  is  John  on  his  new  horse  Dick."  Why  must  I  learn  all  these 
ugly  marks  to  say  that?  I  know  "John  on  his  new  horse  Dick" 
.now.' 

" '  If  you  learn  this  one  page  of  ugly  marks,  you  will  be  able  to 
read  nearly  all  the  books  in  the  whole  world.' 

" '  What!     Aren't  there  more  new  marks  for  every  new  book  ? ' 
" '  Oh,  no.     Just  these  few  for  all.' 

"  '  For  Jack  the  Giant  Killer?  And  for  Bill's  big  Robinson  Crusoe, 
and  for  Annie's  Fairy  book,  and  for  the  books  on  the  top  shelf,  with 
pictures  in  'em?' 

" '  Exactly.     Learn  these  marks  once,  and  learn  them  for  all.     As 
soon  as  you  know  these,  and  how  to  put  thetn  together,  you  can 
read  all  the  books  you  can  see.' 
"  In  six  months  he  read  fluently. 

"Another  child  could  not  learn  the  alphabet.  He  was  a  mechanical 
genius,  and  'possessed  to  be  all  the  time  making  things  out  of 
sticks.'  I  told  him  the  letters  were  simply  sticks  put  together  in 
different  ways,  and  he  could  make  them  out  of  twigs  and  little  pins. 
He  might  make  every  one  he  learned,  and  also  make  them  on  his 
fingers.  He  made  big  A  on  his  fingers,  and  made  it  of  sticks,  and 
it  was  at  once  in  his  possession;  so  he  went  with  triumph  to  B.  It 
took  him  only  a  week  to  learn  his  alphabet.  You  must  fit  your 
teachings  to  the  kind  of  mind  you  deal  with.  Don't  try  to  crowd 
square  pegs  into  round  holes  ;  but  round  off  the 


360  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  But  in  speaking  of  all  these  kinds  of  work,"  said  Harriet,  "  we 
find  the  ranks  overcrowded,  especially  in  the  Middle  and  Eastern 
States.  We  girls  cannot  all  pursue  our  work  near  at  home.  Let 
us  look  at  other  forms  of  employment." 

"  Mission  enterprises  are  now  opening  a  wide  field  to  intelligent 
and  religious  young  women,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"  What  kinds  of  workers  do  they  need  ?  "  asked  Harriet. 
"  They  need  matrons  of  institutions,  teachers  of  common  English 
branches,  of  sewing,  even  of  housework,  in  the  industrial  schools. 
They  must  also  be  enterprising  women,  able  to  devise  new  undertak- 
ings, and  pious  women  who  shall  instruct  in  the  gospel.  They  must 
open  and  manage  day-schools,  and  Sabbath-schools,  and  industrial 
schools,  and  homes.  They  must  be  able  to  visit  from  house  to 
house,  to  give  instructions  in  nursing  the  sick,  and  in  making  the 
home  comfortable.  They  must  be  fearless  in  the  truth,  and  full  of 
sympathy,  and  apt  in  showing  people  how  to  help  themselves.  In 
our  own  land,  south  and  west,  to  the  most  distant  outposts,  and  in 
almost  every  land  under  the  sun,  are  hundreds  of  these  missionaries 
and  missionary  teachers,  and  their  number  is  increasing,  offering  a 
wide  field  of  good  work  and  self-support  to  the  right  kind  of 
women." 

"And  how  does  one  enter  on  this- work,  or  find  these  places?  " 
"  I  should  say  the 'first  step  would  be,  to  get  advice  and  informa- 
tion from  your  own  pastor :  of  course  after  you  had  the  consent  of 
your  immediate  family.  The  general  plan  is  to  address  the  secretary 
of  the  mission  board  under  whose  auspices  you  wish  to  labor,  stat- 
ing your  desires,  qualifications,  and  the  field  where  you  especially 
desire  to  be  sent.  An  application  in  proper  form  will  then  be  given 
to  you  to  fill,  and  when  the  right  opening  is  found,  and  funds  are 
ready,  you  will  receive  your  commission.  In  some  cases  the  board 
provides  the  outfit.  Those  workers  who  can  do  so,  of  course  furnish 
their  own.  Travelling  expenses  are  paid.  But  many  devoted 
women  have  gone  forth  entirely  at  their  own  charges,  and  even  de- 
fraying the  expenses  of  Aids,  who  accompany  them ;  going  because 
they  wish  to  help  on  the  world's  work,  and  are  not  needed  at  home." 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOE    WOMEN.  361 

"  I  begin  to  see  more  ways  than  I  had  expected,  of  employing 
one's  self,  and  being  independent,"  said  Laura.  "  Now  what  comes 
next  ? " 

"A  verse  from  Proverbs,"  said  the  Stranger :  " '  He  that  tilleth  his 
land  shall  be  satisfied  with  bread.' " 

"  O,  but  that  is  for  men,"  exclaimed  Dora. 

"  No,  indeed ;  for  he  read  she  ;  it  suits  women,  I  assure  you,  and  my 
next  point  is,  that  women  will  find  a  congenial,  appropriate,  and 
profitable  pursuit  in  agriculture." 

"  What,  manage  a  farm  !  "  cried  Harriet. 

"  Some  women  have  been  very  successful  farmers ;  gardening, 
floriculture,  fruit-culture,  vegetable  or  market-gardening,  are  all  good 
employments  for  women.  Women  seem  to  have  a  genius  for  rear- 
ing plants,  as  they  have  for  rearing  children.  I  have  now  in  my 
mind  the  widow  of  a  telegraph  operator.  Her  husband  dying  sud- 
denly, left  her  no  means  of  support  and  two  children  to  care  for,  one 
of  these  being  blind.  Her  health  was  not  such  that  she  could  sit  and 
sew,  her  lungs  being  weak ;  she  could  not  leave  the  blind  child  and 
the  baby,  so  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  teach  in  the  common  school, 
or  to  clerk.  The  town  was  of  moderate  size  and  had  no  green-house. 
There  was  a  one-room  south  wing  on  her  house,  with  windows  east 
and  west.  She  persuaded  her  landlord  to  take  out  a  large  portion 
of  the  southern  wall  of  this  room,  and  supply  its  place  with  glass. 
She  got  from  her  friends,  slips,  seeds,  bulbs,  pots.  After  the  windows 
were  set,  she  herself  did  all  the  work  of  converting  the  room  into 
a  green-house.  She  constructed  flower-stands  of  her  tables,  and 
made  of  their  drawers  beds  of  sand  and  earth  for  slip-raising ;  she 
turned  her  dishes  into  flower-pots,  and  her  dripping  pans  into  beds 
for  bulbs.  She  sent  to  Washington  to  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior, for  whatever  roots  or  seeds  they  would  give  her.  She  studied 
botany  and  flower-culture  until  late  at  night,  and  of  afternoons 
walked  out  into  the  woods  with  her  children,  and  brought  the  baby- 
carriage  back  full  of  forest-earth,  and  pulverized,  decayed  wood,  and 
rotted  bark,  to  provoke  her  plants  into  wonders  of  blooming.  She 


362  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

learned  to  graft,  and  she  produced  new  varieties.  She  studied  as 
a  fine  art  the  making  up  of  floral  decorations.  The  natural  result 
of  such  diligence  was  success.  Her  flowers  were  exquisite,  her 
prices  reasonable,  her  manners  agreeable,  her  energy  awoke  warm 
admiration.  Her  blind  child  became  almost  as  good  a  gardener  as 
herself.  She  not  only  raised  flowers  in  her  hot-house,  but  sin- 
crowded  in  these  in  winter,  frames  of  cucumbers  and  tomatoes,  and 
far  in  advance  of  the  season  provided  these  luxuries  for  her  rich 
neighbors.  Her  small  garden  had  espalier  fruit-trees  on  every  wall, 
and  flowers  on  every  border,  and  vegetables  crowded  into  ground 
skilfully  fertilized.  She  not  only  supported  herself,  but  she  bought 
the  house  and  lot,  and  thus  assured  a  living  to  her  blind  child." 

"And  it  was  in  such  beautiful  work,  too,"  said  Violet,  eagerly. 
"So  much  pleasanter  and  more  healthful  than  sitting  at  one's  needle 
all  day,  or  standing  in  a  hot  school-room." 

"  For  delicate  women,  even  for  those  who  are  not  necessitated  to 
labor  for  their  own  support,  nothing  is  better  than  gardening.  I 
remember  the  case  of  a  lady  one  of  whose  lungs  was  very  much  dis- 
eased. Her  physician  advised  open-air  exercise,  and  the  interest  of 
changing  scenes.  But  her  means  would  not  permit  her  to  travel. 
She  had  no  horse  and  carriage,  and  was  not  strong  enough  for  long 
walks.  Her  children  needed  her  superintendence  at  home.  Her 
house  had  a  small  garden,  front  and  rear.  She  resolved  in  this  to  get 
the  exercise  and  the  variety  that  she  needed.  She  devoted  the  back 
yard  to  fruit  and  vegetables,  the  front  to  flowers  and  small  shrubbery. 
Every  inch  of  ground  she  made  available;  vines  were  trained  over 
the  front  porch,  and  boxes  of  portulaca  ornamented  the  porch  roof 
and  the  gate-posts  ;  where  the  brick  walk  made  a  wide  bend  to  reach 
the  back  of  the  house,  she  set  up  a  rockery  with  its  appropriate 
growths  ;  on  the  wall  of  the  house  she  trained  a  grape  vine ;  against 
the  garden  walls,  spread  out  to  the  sunny  air,  she  nailed  peaches 
and  plums ;  she  had  the  desired  variety,  for  a  magnificent  succession  of 
bulbs  followed  each  other  from  the  last  snow  to  the  first  frost;  twenty 
kinds  of  roses  crowned  the  summer  with  beauty ;  almost  every  out- 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  363 

door  bloomer  of  this  country  found  its  representative  in  her  small  terri- 
tory. She  crossed,  trained,  grafted,  cultured  her  flowers  into  better 
and  better.  In  the  back  yard  squash  vines  ran  over  the  out-buildings ; 
the  corners  held  barrels  filled  two-thirds  with  rubbish,  and  then 
earth,  bearing  cucumbers,  covering  the  top;  the  air  was  odorous 
with  all  manner  of  sweet  herbs ;  tomatoes  ran  up  poles  and  bore 
abundantly,  instead  of  languishing  on  the  ground.  She  made  this 
prolific  production  possible,  by  continually  enriching  the  earth  ;  not 
a  particle  of  suds  or  of  bath-water  went  into  the  sewers :  it  was  all 
saved  for  the  garden ;  nothing  was  neglected  to  make  the  ground 
fruitful.  Now  she  not  only  gained  health,  and  a  luxurious  providing 
of  fruit  and  vegetables  for  her  table,  but  she  was  surprised  to  find 
her  garden  becoming  a  source  of  income,  which  paid  her  children's 
book  and  school  bills,  while  all  her  former  outlay  for  medicine  and 
doctor's  fees  was  saved  to  her." 

"  I  did  not  know  so  much  could  be  made  of  the  earth,"  said 
Dora. 

"  Why,  do  you  not  know  that  all  that  we  have  comes  originally 
out  of  the  earth  ?  And  the  best  gold  of  the  earth  is  not  the  yellow 
metal,  but  the  growing  things,  which  really  far  outvalue  the  cash 
worth  of  the  gold  produced.  I  have  known  of  several  instances 
where  a  woman  left  with  a  farm  on  her  hands,  instead  of  letting  it 
for  a  tenant  to  run  out  of  order,  and  to  worry  her  about  the  rents, 
has  managed  the  place  herself,  reared  her  family,  and  enriched  her 
children  by  her  wise  management.  Like  the  wise  woman  in  Proverbs, 
4  She  seeth  a  field  and  buyeth  it ;  with  the  fruit  of  her  hands  she 
planteth  a  vineyard.'  I  will  now  tell  you  the 

"STORY  OF  MY  SCOTCH  COUSIN. 

"A  certain  curious  old  castle  in  Scotland  stands  on  the  Haugh 
Farm.  I  was  on  my  way  to  examine  this  castle,  when  an  old  friend 
said  to  me :  '  The  Haugh  Farm  is  held  by  your  cousin  Janet  for  her 
little  son.  Fifteen  years  ago  Janet's  husband  leased  that  farm,  as 
they  do  in  Scotland,  for  three  lives — his  own,  his  son's,  his  grand- 


364  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

son's.  It  is  a  fine  property,  but  Janet's  husband  spent  his  time  breed- 
ing and  racing  horses,  and  five  years  ago  he  broke  his  neck  at  a  race. 
The  only  child  was  a  year  old,  and  people  advised  and  expected 
Janet  to  sell  the  lease.  The  farm  had  been  neglected  by  her  hus- 
band ;  his  men  were  stablemen  and  jockeys ;  the  place  was  a  lonely 
one.  But  Janet  knew  that  it  was  for  her  son's  interest  that  she  should 
hold  the  Haugh  Farm.  She  sold  the  stud  and  bought  sheep  and 
cattle;  she  dismissed  the  retainers  of  the  stable,  and  got  three  steady 
married  men.  The  wife  of  one  of  these  men  cooked  for  the  house- 
hold ;  the  wife  of  another  was  dairy-woman ;  the  third  was  a  rare 
hand  at  poultry.  Janet  next  brought  in  a  young  nephew  of  a  fair 
education,  who  was  to  be  tutor  to  her  boy,  keep  her  accounts,  and 
be  at  hand  in  all  emergencies.  As  for  Janet,  she  holds  the  reins  of 
her  great  establishment  with  a  firm  hand ;  nothing  is  sold  or  bought, 
or  planted,  or  reaped,  without  her  supervision.  She  knows  the 
amount  of  seed  sown  and  the  yield  of  every  acre ;  she  looks  after 
all,  from  plough-boy  to  dairy-woman  ;  she  knows  the  weight  of 
every  hog,  and  the  value  of  every  fleece.' 

"  By  this  time  we  were  near  the  Haugh  Farm,  and,  'Ah,  there  is 
Janet  now ! '  said  my  old  friend.  She  was  a  vigorous,  frank-faced 
woman,  wearing  a  wide  hat,  a  close  broadcloth  jacket,  a  blue  cloth 
skirt  to  her  ankles,  dog-skin  gloves,  calf-skin  boots,  a  linen  collar 
and  white  tie.  At  her  side  trotted  her  son,  whom  she  took  where- 
ever  she  went,  tutoring  him  in  farming.  She  did  not  see  us,  and 
thus  held  discourse  to  a  man  who  was  mending  a  small  flaw  in 
a  wall.  '  Look  you,  Thomas,  there  are  three  thistles  in  the  south 
corner  of  the  big  field,  and  you  will  cut  them  up  within  an  hour; 
turn  them  under  the  sod ;  if  you  leave  them  in  the  sun  they  may 
go  to  seed.  The  hinges  of  the  west  gate  must  be  taken  off  be- 
fore supper,  and  put  in  a  new  place ;  the  screws  are  loose,  and  some 
night  the  gate  will  blow  down.  There's  a  post  given  way  up  the 
lane  yon,  and  a  new  one  must  be  set  to-morrow,  and  the  fence 
straightened.  Mind  I  don't  hear  of  setting  another  post  without 
charring  the  end.  Son  Duncan,  why  is  the  post  to  be  charred  ?  '  'To 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  366 

keep  the  end  frae  rotten'  i'  the  ground  ! '  cried  son  Duncan.  'Ou 
aye,  ye'll  mak'  a  fine  farmer  yet.  Ah,  neighbor  McKindoo,  is  that 
you?  Come  in,  an'  welcome.  We'll  go  ben  to  the  parlor.  Duncan, 
run  away  an'  tell  Robert  to  give  yon  brown  coo  a  warm  mash ! 
Come  ben,  neighbor,  come  ben ;  this  is  gey  fine  weather  for  the 
crops.' " 

"Why — y,  what  a  funny  woman!  "  says  pretty  Dora. 

"  Funny,  my  girl !  I  fancy  when  '  son  Duncan'  finds  himself  one 
of  the  richest  farmers  in  the  country,  able  to  send  his  sons  to  college, 
and  endow  his  daughters  handsomely,  he  will  thank  Heaven  that  his 
mother  was  so  remarkably  funny,  that  instead  of  selling  his  oppor- 
tunities and  bringing  him  up  to  be  some  one's  hired  man,  she  was 
like  that  'woman  more  precious  than  rubies,'  who  'seeketh  wool  and 
flax,  and  worketh  diligently  with  her  hands  ;  she  girdeth  her  loins 
with  strength,  and  strengtheneth  her  arms ;  she  perceiveth  that  her 
merchandise  is  good,  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and 
eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness.' " 

"  But  to  do  anything  like  that,"  said  Dora,  "  I  thought  that  one 
must  be  able  to  plough  and  rake,  and  dig." 

"  Not  necessarily,  for  one  can  hire  this  work  done.  A  deal  of 
gardening  can  be  done  with  trowel,  pruning  knife,  and  small  rakes, 
hoes,  and  dibbles,  that  any  woman  can  handle.  But  I  have  heard 
of  women,  sensible,  genial,  well-informed,  modest  women,  too,  who 
could  guide  a  plough,  or  drive  a  horse-rake,  or  a  reaper,  or  mowing 
machine.  There  was  a  father  out  West  who  had  four  daughters  and 
no  sons.  But  his  daughters  were  like  sons  to  him  ;  they  helped  him 
in  every  department  of  the  farm;  knew  what  was  to  be  done;  could 
give  an  order,  and  superintend  its  execution." 

"  Well,  but  were  they  not  rough,  and  clumsy,  and  had  huge  feet 
and  hands,  and  coarse  voices  ?  "  says  Dora. 

"  Not  at  all ;  in  their  wide  hats,  stout  little  boots,  and  thick  gloves, 
and  neat  cloth  dresses,  they  were  as  pretty  a  sight  as  one  could  wish 
to  see — at  least  all  the  young  men  in  the  county  thought  so.  Now 


366  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

right  here,  I  want  to  say  a  word  about  girls  helping  their  fathers. 
When  a  man  has  no  sons,  and  five  or  six  daughters,  why  must  all 
these  girls  stay  at  home,  fretting  or  getting  into  mischief  for  the 
want  of  something  to  do,  while  their  father  hires  strangers  to  help 
him  in  his  store  or  his  office  ?  To  have  a  desk  in  her  father's 
place  of  business  will  surely  harm  no  girl.  A  girl  can  be  a  book- 
keeper, an  amanuensis,  cashier  for  her  father.  The  surveyor's 
daughter  can  sit  in  his  office,  draw  his  maps,  make  his  estimates, 
and  while  she  is  doing  fair  work,  and  making  herself  independent,, 
she  can  cheer  her  father  with  her  presence,  his  office  will  be  neater 
and  brighter,  and  take  a  more  home-like  look,  for  the  maid  that  is 
better  perhaps  to  her  father  than  ten  sons.  I  don't  see  why  fathers 
should  deprive  themselves  of  their  children's  help  and  company, 
because  those  children  are  girls." 

"But  usually,"  said  John  Frederick,  "the  parents  themselves  make 
the  daughters  think  that  such  employment  is  out  of  place.  The 
mother  would  fancy  that  her  girl  would  be  ostracised  from  society; 
and  the  father  would  believe  that  the  dear  creature  could  not  do- 
anything,  or  that  it  would  be  highly  improper — " 

Violet,  blandly  smiling,  presented  John  Frederick  with  a  dozen  of 
plums. 

"  We  hear  much  now-a-days  of  the  emancipation  of  women,"  said 
the  Stranger.  "  The  first  step  in  this  emancipation  must  be  to  re- 
lease themselves  from  the  bondage  of  their  own  foolish  ideas.  As  the 
woman  of  China  is  the  slave  of  the  idea  of  dwarfed  feet ;  the  woman 
of  India  is  the  slave  of  the  privacy  of  the  Zenanna ;  the  woman  of 
Egypt  is  the  slave  of  the  veiled  face  ;  the  women  of  our  western 
civilizations,  in  England,  France  America,  are  the  slaves  of  an 
absurd- — shame  at  self-support.  The  woman  who  makes  her  own 
way,  and  accumulates  her  own  bank-stock,  allows  herself  to  be 
sneered  at  by  the  woman  who  hangs  like  a  dead  weight  on  strug- 
gling father  or  brother,  is  in  debt  to  her  dressmaker,  and  to  every 
shop-keeper  who  will  trust  her.  The  exception  to  this  ridiculous 
snobbery  is,  when  the  woman  makes  her  way  by  art  or  by  literature, 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  367 

and  becomes  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  famous ;  and  then  fashion  is 
willing  to  flatter  her,  and  to  ignore  the  awful  fact  that  she  takes 
money  for  her  work.  The  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  next  genera- 
tion must  cultivate  a  more  sensible  view  of  things  than  this.  Under 
the  reign  of  common-sense,  nothing  that  is  honest  will  be  deemed 
dishonorable,  and  idleness  and  ignorance  will  be  a  disgrace." 

"  But  ignorance  is  a  disgrace  now,"  said  Harriet. 

"Only  ignorance  of  certain  things"  said  the  Stranger.  "There  is 
many  a  lady  who  knows  she  would  lose  caste,  if  she  dared  admit 
that  she  knew  how  to  pickle  pork,  or  to  make  bread.  One  of  you 
spoke  lately  of  a  time  when,  in  France,  a  lady  was  disgraced  by 
properly  using  or  pronouncing  Jiard  words.  That  whim  is  past,  but 
let  a  lady  at  Saratoga  or  Newport — unless  she  carries  all  before  her 
by  being  overpoweringly  rich — try  the  effect  on  her  butterfly  com- 
panions of  knowing  the  value  of  stocks,  and  the  meaning  of  govern- 
ment securities,  and  the  fluctuations  in  the  price  of  bonds.  She  will! 
see  then  what  kind  of  learning  for  women  is  tabooed  in  polite  cir- 
cles. Ah,  children,  take  it  all  in  all,  this  is  a  terribly  silly  world ;  it 
is  for  you  to  make  it  wiser." 

"And  what  next  for  an  employment  for  women?"  said  Laura. 

"  Next  to  farming  and  gardening  comes — dairy  work.  Did  you 
ever  guess  what  a  profit  there  is  in  dairy  work?  It  was  a  fashion 
once  for  queens  and  ladies  to  play  at  it;  and  still  at  Versailles  one 
sees  the  fanciful  cottages,  where  luckless  Marie  Antoinette  played  at 
making  butter,  and  curds,  and  cheese.  But  dairy  work  is  going  out 
of  style,  just  when  it  would  be  most  profitable.  Once,  wherever 
a  cow  was  kept,  the  girls  of  the  family  knew  how  to  manage  the 
milk,  and  all  its  products ;  now,  that  is  considered  too  vulgar  an  ac- 
complishment, and  the  farmer's  daughter  lifts  her  eyebrows  and  tells 
you,  ' Why  /  don't  know  how  to  make  butter  or  cheese!'  Well! 
more's  the  pity  then.  No  girl  was  ever  the  worse  for  knowing  how 
to  skim  a  pan  of  milk  without  waste  or  spatter ;  for  knowing  how  to 
mould  a  beautiful  roll  of  butter;  or  turn  out  a  snowy  row  of  cottage- 
cheeses;  and  show  a  great  cream-cheese  of  her  own  making!  But 


368  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

now,  factories,  or  Irish  girls,  who  have  only  been  half  taught,  are  ex- 
pected to  make  butter  for  us,  and  as  a  consequence  very  little  first- 
class  butter  is  seen.  It  is  so,  not  only  in  America,  but  over  the  seas 
too.  England  no  longer  provides  her  own  butter;  dairy -work  is  on 
the  decay.  South  Ireland,  with  the  finest  pasture-lands,  and  what 
should  be  the  best  facilities  for  butter-making,  whereby  the  people 
would  be  enriched  and  the  London  and  Liverpool  markets  supplied, 
produces  little  really  good  butter.  Ignorance  and  carelessness  lessen 
the  products  of  the  dairy  by  one-third,  and  their  value  by  a  third 
more.  Normandy  and  Brittany  are  now  the  banner  butter  countries 
of  the  world.  In  these  countries  the  wives  and  daughters  manage 
their  own  dairies  and  make  enormous  profits.  A  Brittany  dairy- 
farmer's  daughter  often  gets  a  dowry  of  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
and  has  earned  it.  There  is  no  reason  why  America  should  not 
make  the  finest  and  most  butter  in  the  world — butter  that  would  be  a 
true  luxury ;  butter  that  would  keep.  The  reason  that  this  great 
source  of  income  is  declining  is,  that  American  women  are  not  bring- 
ing their  laste,  their  skill,  their  dexterity,  their  inventive  genius,  to  bear 
on  the  dairy.  In  the  isolated  instances,  near  our  great  cities,  where 
farmers'  well-cultivated  wives  and  daughters  see  to  their  own  butter- 
making,  their  butter  commands  a  dollar  a  pound,  while  the  produce 
of  the  factory,  and  of  the  uninitiated  Bridget,  will  bring  not  over 
thirty-five  or  forty  cents  a  pound.  In  a  dairy,  delicate  cleanliness  is 
heeded,  the  exquisjte  cleanliness  of  cultivated  taste.  You  cannot 
expect  a  person  whose  eye  is  not  offended  by  a  grease  spot,  whose 
nose  is  indifferent  to  a  rotting  cabbage  or  a  dirty  mop,  to  be  capable 
of  keeping  a  dairy  and  all  its  belongings,  in  good  butter-making 
order.  When  cows  are  to  be  kicked  and  bawled  at  by  hired-men, 
and  the  milk  strained  by  a  girl  in  a  dirty  apron,  and  the  butter  col- 
lected, and  worked,  and  moulded,  by  a  woman  who  '  can't  take  time 
to  brush  her  hair  before  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,'  we  shall  not 
have  good  butter." 

"And  making  good  butter,  and  cheese,  and  pot-cheese,  and  send- 
ing cream  to  market — running  a  dairy,  in  fact,  pays,  do  you  think  ?  " 
asked  Catherine. 


ESPECIAL   EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  36ft 

"Certainly  it  does.  Give  your  cows  fair  treatment;  give  your 
dairy  fair  treatment,  and  you  will  find  it  pays.  Many  a  widow  who 
is  fretting  over  dressmaking,  and  begging  and  borrowing  of  all  her 
relations,  would  find  her  circumstances  comfortable,  if  she  would 
buy  three  cows,  and  give  her  whole  attention  to  making  the  best  of 
them." 

"And  what  about  the  chickens  ?  "  said  Violet  "  I've  been  waiting 
for  you  to  commend  poultry-raising  to  us  girls." 

"And  so  I  do.  One  of  the  most  successful  poultry-raisers  in  the 
world  is  a  French  countess,  who  has  made  both  money  and  reputa- 
tion, and  performed  wonders  of  benevolence  out  of  her  poultry 
farming.  The  care  of  poultry  is  easy  and  pleasing;  .it  suits  women 
especially,  as  they  have  a  natural  patience,  a  kindness  to  small  and 
helpless  things,  a  love  of  beautiful  things,  and  a  capacity  for  remem- 
bering and  attending  to  minutiae.  The  rearing  of  poultry  is  both 
pleasant  and  profitable.  We  have  now  domesticated  in  this  country 
an  immense  variety  of  fowls  of  many  kinds.  To  some  thirty  breeds 
of  cocks  and  hens,  add  turkeys,  Guinea  and  peafowls,  and  twenty  or 
more  sorts  of  ducks  and  geese,  and  from  a  selection  of  these,  one 
has  a  poultry-yard  that  would  make  a  splendid  show.  As  for  profit, 
the  tougher  and  commoner  breeds  of  fowls  are  best.  It  is  calculated 
that  a  laying  hen  can  be  kept  for  two  cents  a  week,  or  one  dollar  ten 
per  year  at  the  outside ;  but  a  low  estimate  of  the  value  of  her  eggs 
and  chicks  would  be  five  dollars  in  the  year.  In  1855  the  gross 
value  of  eggs  and  poultry  in  the  United  States  was  twenty  millions 
of  dollars ;  in  1870  it  was  over  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
dollars. 

"Another  pleasant  industry  for  women  is  the  keeping  of  bees.  A 
writer  on  bees  remarks:  'There  are  but  few  portions  of  our  country 
which  are  not  admirably  adapted  to  bee-keeping.  The  wealth  of  the 
nation  might  be  increased  by  millions  of  dollars,  if  every  family  so 
situated  as  to  render  it  possible,  would  keep  a  few  hives.  No  other 
branch  of  industry  can  be  named  where  there  need  be  so  little  loss 
on  the  material  employed.'  It  is  also  stated  that,  '  Practical  bee- 

24 


370  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

keeping  in  this  country  is  in  a  very  depressed  condition,  owing  to 
its  being  almost  entirely  neglected  by  those  most  favorably  situated 
for  its  pursuit.'  I  should  fancy  that  these  '  neglecters '  were  most 
of  them  ladies,  who  have  leisure  and  flower  gardens,  in  the  corner 
of  which  a  row  of  humming  hives  would  add  much  to  beauty  and 
interest,  and  also  profit." 

"But  is  bee-keeping  profitable?"  demanded  Peter. 

Dora  gave  Peter  a  piece  of  cake. 

"It  is  agreed  that  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  investment  is  a 
fair  return  in  bee-keeping.  Each  hive,  well  cared  for,  will  probably 
produce  five  dollars  in  honey  and  wax.  Dzierzon,  a  poor  Silesian, 
realized  from  his  bees  in  one  year  nine  hundred  dollars.  The  entire 
value  of  the  bee-keeping  interest  in  this  country  for  1870-79  was 
forty-seven  millions  dollars,  as  given  by  the  editor  of  '  Bee-keepers' 
Magazine.'  Nothing  is  more  pleasing  than  the  care  of  hives.  Read 
Huber  on  bees,  and  you  will  be  fascinated  with  bee-keeping.  This 
is  not  a  business  of  guess-work ;  you  should  study  the  bees,  their 
habits,  needs,  dangers,  and  enemies.  But  one  or  two  good  works 
by  practical  bee-keepers  will  guide  you,  and  as  you  study  and  ob- 
serve and  compare  for  yourself,  you  will  improve.  The  bee  has 
always  been  associated  with  rural  beauty,  with  flowers,  with  country 
pleasures.  Says  Shakespeare : 

" '  Others  like  soldiers,  armed  in  their  stings, 
Make  boot  upon  the  summer's  velvet  buds, 
Which  pillage  they  with  merry  inarch  bring  home.' 

Whittier  sings  of  an  old  superstition  of  the  hive-owner  thus: 

" '  Just  the  same  as  a  month  before, 

The  house  and  the  trees,* 
The  barn's  brown  gable,  the  vine  by  the  door, 

Nothing  changed  but  the  hive  of  bees. 
Trembling  I  listened  :  the  summer  sun 

Had  the  chill  of  snow, 
For  I  knew  they  were  telling  the  bees  of  one 

Gone  on  a  journey  we  all  most  go.' " 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  371 

"  What  do  you  think  of  store-keeping  for  women  ?  "  asked  Clara. 

"  It  sometimes  succeeds.  Where  there  is  not  too  much  competi- 
tion, and  where  the  woman  possesses  good  business  judgment,  natural 
shrewdness,  and  has  a  certain  popularity,  it  has  proved  very  profit- 
able. But  mercantile  life  is  a  thing  to  be  carefully  studied.  Those 
who  have  not  been  trained  in  it,  in  watching  the  chances  of  trade, 
knowing  how  to  buy,  and  how  to  sell,  how  to  choose  really  good 
stock,  and  to  appreciate  the  probabilities  of  loss  and  deterioration, 
are  likely  to  make  a  failure  in  store-keeping.  To  be  a  successful 
grocery-man,  more  is  needed  than  to  be  able  to  lease  a  store,  and 
get  a  certain  amount  of  groceries  on  credit.  There  are  every  year 
an  immense  number  of  failures  among  small  shop-keepers,  who  have 
ventured  their  all  in  trade,  supposing  that  anybody  can  buy  a  thing 
for  ten  cents  and  sell  it  for  twelve.  If  this  were  the  whole  problem, 
and  you  were  sure  of  making  enough  of  these  small  profits,  the  affair 
might  go  on  smoothly.  But  the  belief  that  this  is  all  that  is  implied 
in  trade,  arises  from  the  fact  that  one  has  not  studied  it.  It  is  very 
dangerous  to  invest  all  of  one's  small  capital  in  adventuring  in  a 
business  in  which  we  have  had  no  training ;  still  more  dangerous  is 
it,  to  go  in  debt  to  start  in  a  business  of  which  we  know  nothing." 

"Do  you  think  women  have  good  business  heads?"  asked  Samuel, 
gravely. 

Laura  hastened  to  bestow  some  grapes  on  Samuel. 

"As  for  that,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  some  women  are  very  shrewd 
in  business;  as  a  rule,  too,  when  engaged  in  business,- they  are  pru- 
dent of  debt,  and  scrupulously  honorable  in  dealing.  It  is  also  true, 
that  from  a  foolish  notion  or  prejudice,  fathers,  brothers  and  hus- 
bands hinder  most  women  from  learning  anything  about  business, 
and  so  being  capable  of  managing  for  themselves.  This  is  a  very 
narrow-minded  and  reckless  limiting  of  a  woman's  sphere  and  knowl- 
edge, since  so  many  women  are  left  not  only  dependent  upon  their 
own  exertions  for  support,  but  also  with  families'  of  children,  with 
sick  or  disabled  husbands,  and  aged,  infirm  parents,  for  whom  they 
must  provide,  while  laboring  under  the  curse  of  ignorance  of  busi- 


372  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ness.  If  men  would  freely  talk  over  business  affairs  in  their  families, 
and  with  their  wives  and  daughters,  there  would  not  be  half  so  many 
failures  and  bankruptcies  on  record.  As  a  man's  entire  family  must 
suffer  in  his  losses,  and  share  his  poverty,  he  should  at  least  allow 
them  to  foresee,  to  prevent,  or  to  understand  how  to  lighten,  disasters. 
But  I  will,  moreover,  reply  to  Samuel's  question,  that  some  women 
have  shown  a  marvellous  skill  in  inaugurating  new  industries,  and 
that  men  have  not  despised  making  fortunes  where  women  have  led 
the  way.  I  will  now  only  refer  to  two  instances  out  of  many. 
The  button  business  employs  millions  of  workers,  and  produces 
large  results  ;  many  fortunes  have  been  made  out  of  the  beautiful 
fancy  button,  now  suiting  every  style  of  goods.  Some  of  us  remem- 
ber when  pearl,  horn,  brass,  lace  and  china  buttons  represented  the 
entire  store  stock  in  this  line,  and  if  a  person  wanted  anything  else, 
they  covered  a  mould  with  cloth  or  velvet,  or  had  some  one  make 
a  silk  button  by  hand.  The  wife  of  a  country  storekeeper  invented 
our  new  style  of  buttons.  Her  husband's  business  was  at  the  lowest 
ebb;  he  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy;  goods  remained  on  his 
shelves  unsold,  and  among  his  other  stock  he  had  a  box  of  despised 
old-fashioned  buttons  and  trimmings.  His  wife,  intent  on  discover- 
ing a  way  out  of  their  troubles,  was  inspired  to  gather  up  this 
rubbish,  and,  exercising  her  fine  natural  taste,  to  make  buttons  and 
trimmings  to  match  the  contemned  dress  goods.  These,  properly  ex- 
hibited*with  the  goods,  caught  the  eyes  of  the  neighboring  dames. 
The  goods  were  sold  at  fair  prices.  Demand  increased ;  our  notable 
woman  had  as  much  as  she  could  do  with  several  assistants  to  fill 
the  demands  for  the  buttons  that  matched  the  goods.  The  fame 
of  the  enterprise  travelled  to  Boston,  and  before  long  this  skilful 
inventor  of  a  new  industry  was  with  her  husband  at  the  head  of  a 
large  and  profitable  manufactory. 

"Another  very  extensive  and  paying  business  of  this  day  is  that  of 
pattern-making — patterns -for  making  all  kinds  of  clothing,  especially 
for  ladies  and  children,  being  cut  to  accurate  measure,  of  tough,  thin 
paper,  and  supplied  with  directions  for  making  up,  and  a  picture  of 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  373 

the  completed  garment  This  industry  was  also  invented  by  a  woman, 
and  has  made  not  only  her  fortune,  but  that  of  many  others.  The 
large  '  pattern  establishments  '  have  branches  in  our  great  cities  and 
in  European  cities;  they  publish  their  monthly  magazines,  their  pat- 
tern sheets,  and  pattern  books.  Thousands  of  women  find  employ- 
ment in  devising,  cutting,  labelling,  describing,  and  selling  these 
patterns,  and  we  are  a  much  more  tastefully  dressed  people,  thanks 
to  these  designers." 

"  I  wish  you  could  tell  us  of  other  new  enterprises :  they  set  one 
thinking,  and  show  us  ways  of  getting  on  in  the  world,"  said 
Catherine.  "  So  often  women  are  left  with  no  means,  and  with  fami- 
lies of  helpless  children  to  care  for.  They  cannot  leave  home,  and 
their  whole  capital  is  their  little  household  furniture,  and  what  they 
know  of  housekeeping." 

"And  out  of  these  some  of  them  have  reached  competence.  I 
know  of  just  such  a  case.  The  woman  in  question  was  a  rare  hand 
at  making  all  kinds  of  jellies,  pickles,  preserves,  spiced  fruits.  She 
went  among  the  ladies  of  her  town,  and  begged  them  to  give  her  their 
work  in  this  line ;  she  offered  to  do  the  pickling,  preserving,  and  so 
on,  at  her  own  house,  using  all  their  materials,  and  charging  only  a 
moderate  price  for  her  work ;  or,  she  would  furnish  all  the  material, 
at  other  prices,  or  a  part,  at  other  prices  still.  She  offered  to  make 
fruit-syrups,  and  cordials,  and  raspberry  vinegar,  and  to  dry  fruit;  in 
fact,  she  was  ready  to  do  whatever  she  could.  It  was  found  to  be 
such  a  convenience,  always  to  have  this  work  done  in  the  best  man- 
ner and  without  trouble,  that  our  housewife  had  soon  more  than  all 
she  could  undertake.  In  the  winter  season  she  began  the  work  of 
supplying  suppers,  and  refreshments  for  private  gatherings,  or  for 
festivals ;  and  not  only  made  her  way,  but  more  than  made  it." 

"  Such  things  can  be  done  by  widows,  married  women,  or  elderly 
women,"  said  Laura,  "  but  we  girls  seem  more  restricted.  People 
hold  up  their  hands,  if  we  venture  for  ourselves." 

"  They  need  not,  and  if  you  act  discreetly,  you  can  soon  live  down 
their  opposition,  and  convert  surprise  to  admiration.  Let  me  tell 


874  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

you  two  stories  of  enterprising  girls.  A  house-carpenter  died,  after 
a  long  illness.  He  left  four  daughters  and  their  sickly  mother,  with 
no  property  but  a  small  house,  a  four-acre  lot,  and  a  small  barn  with 
one  cow  and  a  few  fowls  inhabiting  it.  The  four  girls  had  been 
fairly  educated,  and  people  advised  them  to  sell  what  they  had,  and 
let  the  three  eldest  get  country  schools,  or  places  as  nursery-govern- 
esses, or  seamstresses,  while  the  youngest,  who  was  seventeen,  should 
stay  with  the  mother.  The  damsels  heard,  but  did  not  heed.  The 
managing  abilities  of  the  eldest  daughter  came  into  play.  The 
youngest  girl  was,  with  her  mother's  aid,  to  keep  the  house,  and 
make  the  most  that  she  could  in  a  dairy  of  one  cow.  '  If  we  only 
make  a  little  butter  it  can  be  first-class,'  was  the  idea.  The  eldest 
daughter  gave  -her  whole  attention  to  turning  the  four-acre  lot 
into  a  fruit  and  vegetable  garden,  giving  her  next  oldest  sister  a  pond, 
and  an  enclosed  half  acre  around  the  barn,  to  do  her  best  with  at 
poultry-raising.  The  poultry-yard  was  well  fenced  in,  but  the  birds 
had  the  run  of  the  place  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  in  the  fall.  The 
third  daughter  helped  her  gardener  sister,  and  kept  a  row  of  fifteen 
bee-hives.  One  man  was  hired,  and  our  enterprising  young  women 
studied  their  work  as  earnestly  and  as  proudly  as  if  it  had  been  Latin 
or  Greek.  The  barn  and  poultry-yard  were  kept  wonderfully  neat, 
and  their  refuse  increased  the  fertility  of  the  garden.  The  place  was 
a  pleasing  sight.  The  vegetable  garden  had  long  flower-borders, 
whence  bouquets  went  to  market.  Not  a  foot  of  soil  was  wasted, 
vines  ran  over  all  the  out-buildings,  and  sun-flowers*  for  the  fowls 
filled  every  otherwise  empty  corner.  Instead  of  being  poor,  over- 
worked and  unhappy,  these  sisters  were  healthy,  cheerful,  and 
well-to-do,  their  circumstances  improving  with  every  year." 

"That  is  very  interesting,"  said  Harriet;  "what  was  the  other  ex- 
ample of  enterprise  ?  " 

"A  country  minister  had  six  daughters.  It  being  manifest  that  all 
these  girls  could  not  live  by  sharing  their  father's  little  salary  of  eight 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  when  with  much  effort  and  self-denial  they 
had  obtained  a  fair  education,  the  five  elder  girls  departed  to  the 


ESPECIAL  EMPLOYMENTS  FOR    WOMEN.  375 

city,  to  make  their  own  way.  The  eldest,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  a  teacher,  was  now  twenty-five.  These  girls  hired  a  small  house 
and  furnished  it  simply ;  they  shared  the  work  between  them,  as  best 
suited  their  other  employments,  and  the  eldest  sister  was  the  head 
of  the  family.  Before  going  to  the  city,  each  one  had  obtained  work. 
The  eldest  daughter  taught  in  a  ladies-school ;  the  second  was  a 
music-teacher,  receiving  pupils  at  her  own  house,  where  she  began 
with  only  four,  but  soon  had  ten  ;  the  third  sister  was  book-keeper 
in  a  large  millinery  establishment ;  the  fourth  had  secured  a  place  in 
the  post-office ;  and  the  fifth,  a  girl  of  sixteen,  began  a  class  which 
proved  immensely  popular;  she  secured  pupils  for  sewing  of  all  kinds, 
fancy  work,  embroidery,  knitting,  satin-painting.  She  was  so  skil- 
ful and  tasteful,  that  she  could  do  any  kind  of  fancy  work  that  she 
saw,  and  her  class  was  crowded,  young  ladies  coming  to  learn  how 
to  make  presents ;  and  mothers  of  families  sending  their  little  girls, 
to  save  themselves  the  trouble  of  teaching  them  to  sew.  These 
sisters  also  succeeded  in  making  a  comfortable  income ;  they  were 
soon  able  to  keep  a  servant,  and  their  energy,  dignity,  and  good- 
sense  secured  them  friends  and  respect." 

"  But  one  girl  alone  could  not  do  like  that,"  said  Dora. 

"  No  :  but  she  could  devise  something  else.  Where  there  is  a  will 
it  will  make  a  way,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"Are  there  not  in  many  of  our  cities  training  schools  for  nurses?" 
asked  Harriet. 

"  There  are,  and  a  person  wishing  to  learn  nursing,  and  able  to 
pay  for  instruction,  can  go  to  these  schools,  and  when  their  course 
is  finished  will  receive  a  certificate  of  competence." 

"And  now,"  said  Violet,  "  there  are  still  many  other  ways  open 
for  making  a  living — as  music,  art,  literature." 

"  Yes :  but  these  are  pursued  by  men  as  well  as  by  women,  there- 
fore I  shall  set  them  over  to  discuss  at  some  time  when  we  speak  of 
professions  open  to  both  sexes.  For  I  perceive  that  you  do  not  to- 
day allow  these  young  men  to  be  heard  from." 

"  That  is  so,"  said  John  Frederick ;  "  as  soon  as  vre  dare  open  our 


378  PRACTICAL  LIFE, 

mouths,  these  merry  maidens  benevolently  offer  us  something  to  put 
into  them  !  " 

"And  you  fall  into  the  trap  every  time,"  said  Violet. 

"  Out  of  sheer  courtesy,"  said  Thomas. 

"Where  is  our  coffee?"  cried  Laura. 

"  Before  you  bring  it,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  I  want  to  say  a  word 
on  the  manner  of  pursuing  any  business  which  you  may  choose. 
And  first,  I  warn  you  to  be  above  this  silly  shame  at  self-support. 
'  He  that  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat,'  is,  like  other  monitions 
of  Scripture,  not  confined  to  one  sex.  On  this  point  I  have  already 
spoken.  Nothing  that  is  honest  but  is  honorable,  and  steady 
patience  is  invincible.  There  must  be  pioneers  of  opinion,  and  the 
emancipation  of  women  must  begin  with  themselves,  and  be,  first  of 
all,  emancipation  from  chains  of  their  own  forging — foolish  notions, 
wherewith  they  bind  themselves. 

"  One  great  objection  that  is  made  to  women's  work  is — a  lack  of 
thoroughness.  Now  this  is  not  because  women  cannot  be  thorough, 
or  are  not  naturally  so ;  for  we  see  what  exquisite  housekeepers,  seam- 
stresses and  nurses  they  are  at  home.  If  this  complaint  of  a  lack 
of  thoroughness  is  well  grounded,  and  no  doubt  it  is,  the  reason  is 
evident :  too  many  women,  in  entering  on  any  work,  regard  it  merely 
as  a  make-shift — a  method  of  getting  bread  and  butter  and  bonnets, 
until  they  can  abandon  it  by  marrying.  Thus,  not  expecting  their 
pursuit  to  be  a  life-long  occupation,  but  never  looking  six  months  or 
a  year  forward  for  continuing  in  it,  they  lack  interest,  vigorous  pur- 
suit, concentrated  effort,  all  that  constitutes  thoroughness.  The  case 
is  different  with  a  man,  who  knows  that  he  must  pursue  his  business 
all  his  life,  and  if  he  is  married,  only  work  the  harder.  Women, 
entering  on  any  work,  should  resolutely  put  their  minds  and  hearts 
in  that  work,  intent  on  doing  the  very  best  that  can  be  done  in  it, 
whether  or  not  it  is  a  life-work.  The  question  of  'how  long?'  should 
never  come  up.  Death  may  cut  any  work  off  at  any  hour.  With 
fixedness  of  purpose  one  should  be  thorough  in  whatsoever  is  done, 
doing  work  well  because  it  is  commanded,  '  Whatsoever  we  do  to  do 
ft  with  our  might.'  " 


CHAPTER    EIGHTEENTH. 

PURSUITS    FOR    MEN    AND    WOMEN. 

AIR  play !     Share  and  share  alike  this  time,"  said 
John  Frederick,  taking  his  seat. 
"Our  subject,"  said  Thomas,  "is — Pursuits  Open 
to  Men  and  Women,  but  it  seems  to  me,  that  it  was 
really  entered  upon  in  discussing  pursuits  for  women, 
because  agriculture  and  teaching,  at  least,  belong  to  both  sexes." 

"Almost  every  business  that  men  have  followed  some  woman  has 
tried  her  hand  at,"  said  Peter ;  "  and  nearly  every  kind  of  work  that 
woman  claims,  men  have  also  undertaken.  Women  have  been  sol- 
diers, and  men  have  kept  laundries,  or  dressmaking  establishments. 
Women  have  governed  nations,  and  men  have  been  nurses ;  the 
highest  priced  cooks  are  men,  though  cooking  is  supposed  to  be  a 
woman's  province." 

"  This  must  needs  be  true,  because  the  mental  and  moral  natures 
of  men  and  women  are  the  same,"  said  the  Stranger.  "As  a  general 
thing,  we  say  that  a  finer,  more  delicate,  less  muscular  physique  be- 
longs to  women ;  and  that  some  mental  qualities  are  more  frequently 
largely  developed  in  men,  and  others  in  women.  And  yet  we  often 
find  a  man  of  acutely  nervous  organization  with  frail  muscles  and 
keen  sensibilities ;  and  you  will  find,  on  the  other  hand,  a  woman 
cool,  strong,  daring,  with  muscles  like  steel.  They  will  each  seize 
that  domain  in  life  for  which  they  are  naturally  fit,  and  therefore  all 
our  rules  as  to  the  province  that  each  shall  fill,  are  rules  largely  fol- 
lowed by  exceptions.  Let  us  in  our  talk  to-day  consider  finished 
the  discussion  of  teaching  as  a  business.  We  have  touched  upon  it 

(377) 


378  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

several  times,  and  it  is  a  theme  upon  which  you  all  possess  more  or 
less  information.  We  will  say  nothing  more  to-day  concerning  agri- 
culture, leaving  that  point  for  the  time  when  we  consider  Especial 
Employments  for  Men.  At  present,  I  will  only  quote  to  you  three 
sentiments  concerning  agriculture  :  they  represent  the  opinions  of  a 
French  literary  man,  an  American  statesman,  and  a  Spanish  traveller. 
Says  the  Frenchman :  '  Only  the  works  of  agriculture  can  suffice 
to  fix  wandering  and  vagabond  people,  create  of  nomads  powerful 
nations,  and  take  from  them  the  desire  to  sustain  life  by  rapine  and 
violence.  Only  one  grain  of  wheat  is  needed  to  change  the  un- 
civilized Gaul  into  a  nation  polished  with  all  the  arts  of  life.  A 
single  seed  of  flax  may  be  so  developed  as  one  day  to  clothe  a 
nation ! ' 

"  Says  the  American :  '  The  interests  of  agriculture  deserve  more 
attention  from  the  government  than  they  have  yet  received.  The 
farms  of  the  United  States  afford  homes  and  employments  for  more 
than  half  our  people,  and  furnish  much  the  largest  part  of  all  our 
exports.  As  the  government  lights  our  coast  for  the  protection  of 
mariners,  and  the  benefit  of  commerce,  so  it  should  give  to  the  tillers 
of  the  soil  the  lights  of  practical  convenience  and  experience.' 

"  Says  the  Spaniard,  a  political  economist :  '  The  noble  task  of 
agriculture  is  a  school  of  practice  in  civil  virtues  :  here  men  are  social 
equals,  and  not  a  prey  to  rapid  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  They  are 
distant  equally,  from  that  height  of  power  which  induces  rapacity 
and  oppression,  and  from  that  poverty  and  misery  which  bring  dis- 
order, vice  and  despair.'  Here  in  favor  of  agriculture  we  have  a 
consensus  of  careful  thinkers.  I  will  now  give  you  three  grand  rules 
for  making  a  living : 

"  First :  Have  a  handicraft. 

"  Second :  Be  able  to  do  more  than  one  thing. 

"  Third :  Don't  dream  things  about  your  abilities,  but  know  what 
you  are  about." 

"And  as  to  this  first  rule,"  said  Samuel,  "  why  shall  we  have  a 
handicraft?" 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  370 

"  Because  the  man  who  can  use  his  hands  can  always  make  his 
bread  and  butter.  No  matter  what  profession  you  pursue,  learn  be- 
side the  profession  a  handicraft.  You  may  fail  in  your  profession, 
mentally,  physically,  financially — have  a  handicraft  to  fall  back  on. 
Be  able  to  paint  houses  or  carriages,  to  set  grates  or  window-panes, 
to  shoe  a  horse,  or  work  with  a  carpenter,  or  to  set  type,  or  build  a 
good  wall,  or  lay  the  track  of  a  railroad.  Be  able  to  live  by  a  trade, 
even  if  you  are  never  likely  to  need  that  trade." 

"  I  believe  that  is  a  sound  principle,"  said  Peter. 

"And  it  seems  to  cover  part  of  your  second  rule :  to  be  able  to  do 
more  than  one  thing,"  said  Henry. 

"  Partly ;  but,  if  you  pursue  a  handicraft  entirely,  do  not  be  con- 
tent to  know  only  one  thing,  lest  in  that  some  disaster  overtake  you, 
and  you  shall  be  left  helpless.  If  you  pursue  any  manual  labor, 
know  enough  of  some  other  form  of  manual  labor  to  make  your 
living  by  that  if  need  be;  that,  'when  these  fail,  those  may  receive 
you  into  their  houses.'  " 

'•Your  third  rule  will  make  us  practical,  and  we  shall  always  know 
what  we  are  about,"  said  Catherine. 

"Yes;  there  are  no  more  useless  people  than  dreamers.  What  is 
the  use  of  sitting  and  fancying  what  we  might  do  when  it  is  open  to 
us  to  go  and  do  it,  if  capacity  is  in  us  ?  If  the  capacity  is  lacking, 
the  dream  is  baseless." 

"  Let  us  begin  with  the  manual  pursuits  open  to  men  and  women, 
and-  so  go  upwards,"  said  Laura. 

"  This  beginning  near  the  ground  is  a  good  thing,"  replied  the 
Stranger.  "  It  is  the  only  way  for  solid  work.  Who  ever  began  a 
house  at  the  cupola  and  went  down  to  the  foundation  ?  Our  strength 
is  from  the  earth ;  we  are  all  made  of  dust ;  Antaeus  was  not  the 
only  son  of  the  earth.  Now  in  thinking  what  you  will  do,  or  in. 
seeking  work,  limit  your  offers  to  your  capacities,  and  advance  as 
you  have  a  good  broad  platform.  There  is  a  great  dishonesty  in 
undertaking  to  do  what  you  really  are  not  competent  to  do.  I  once 
knew  a  woman  who  managed  to  get  a  place  as  Latin  teacher  in  a 


880  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Young  Ladies'  College,  while  she  herself  had  never  read  further  in 
Latin  than  Horace.  Now  her  act  was  really  dishonest." 

"  The  fault  belonged  as  much  to  a  person  who  would  be  idiotic 
enough  to  engage  an  Incompetent,"  said  Peter. 

"  Well,  we  must  take  it  into  our  account  that  the  world  is  full  of 
fools,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  and  if  we  are  crafty  we  may  crowd  our- 
selves into  places  far  too  high  for  us.  But  there  are  as  many  wise 
people  as  fools,  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  maintain  ourselves  in 
our  false  position,  and  shall  '  begin  with  shame  to  take  the  lowest 
seat'  I  knew  a  case  of  a  German  University  graduate,  a  fine 
scholar,  who  fled  his  home  on  account  of  political  troubles.  Im- 
mediate work  was  needful  if  he  would  neither  starve  nor  steal.  He 
hired  out  as  a  farm-hand,  but  he  took  pains  to  hire  out  very  near 
a  University,  and  then  by  means  of  the  town  paper,  in  which  he 
wrote  articles,  and  by  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  professors  of 
the  University,  his  talents  and  cultivation  became  known,  and  he  soon 
had  a  place  as  professor,  because  he  deserved  it." 

"  What  you  lately  said  of  gardening,  suits  young  men  as  well  as 
women,"  said  Thomas  ;  "  and  so  does  that  about  nursing,  for  in  all 
hospitals,  except  those  especially  for  women  and  children,  there  are 
male  nurses,  and  if  a  man  has  a  genius  for  nursing  the  sick  he  can 
get  his  training  as  you  previously  recommended." 

"Yes,  and  under  the  same  category  of  partially  discussed  occu- 
pations put  that  share  of  missionary  work  that  does  not  call  for  reg- 
ularly ordained  ministers.  Sometimes  a  young  man  goes  out  as  a 
missionary  school-teacher,  or  a  missionary  agricultural  teacher.  But 
this  is  more  common  in  the  German  evangelical  missions  than  in 
ours." 

"The  Germans  are  in  all  things  practical,"  said  George.  "But 
.now — another  pursuit?" 

"  It  will  hardly  trench  on  the  subject  of  agriculture,  as  I  shall 
hereafter  glance  at  it,  to  commend  now  to  young  men  and  women 
small  fruit  and  grape  culture.  This  is  very  suitable  to  those  who 
need  out-of-door  occupation,  and  active  work  of  not  too  heavy  a 


PURSUITS  FOR   MEN  AND    WOMEN.  381 

kind.  A  great  deal  of  fruit  can  be  raised  on  a  very  small  space  if 
constant  and  wise  care  is  exercised  in  the  cultivation.  A  market  is 
never  lacking  for  strawberries,  raspberries,  currants,  gooseberries, 
plums,  pears,  and  quinces.  The  variety  of  small  fruit  in  this  country 
is  great,  but  the  demand  is  almost  unbounded,  and  as  there  is  never 
a  surplus,  fruit  of  a  fair  quality,  well  packed  and  got  to  market  in 
good  order,  commands  always  a  paying  price.  These  fruits  grow 
in  almost  every  part  of  the  United  States,  and  new  kinds  are  being 
constantly  introduced.  For  a  young  person,  especially  one  near  a 
large  town  that  will  afford  an  easy  market,  fruit  culture  offers  large 
compensation.  If  the  young  person  has  only  moderate  education 
that  precludes  a  profession,  and  a  delicate  constitution  that  will  pro- 
hibit clerking  or  hea'vy  labor,  from  one  to  four  acres  of  ground,  de- 
voted to  small  fruits,  will  invariably  return  a  good  living." 
"  I  think  you  do  not  highly  esteem  clerking  for  a  living." 
"  Our  great  cities  offer  places  to  thousands  of  clerks,  and  some  of 
the  positions  opened  are  good  and  permanent,  affording  opportunities 
of  advancement.  Most  of  our  merchants  began  as  clerks :  indeed, 
only  by  the  experience  of  clerking  one  can  get  an  inside  view  and 
proper  knowledge  of  mercantile  life.  Still  this  is  a  business  that 
has  many  disadvantages.  The  pay  is  in  most  instances  very  small ; 
particularly  when  one  considers  the  expense  of  living,  for  the  clerk 
must  dress  well,  and  live  at  a  decent,  place,  and  will  find  city  laundry 
bills  high.  Another  trouble  is,  that  while  clerks  are  heavily  overworked 
in  the  busy  season,  as  at  the  holidays,  and  for  spring  and  fall  trade, 
there  are  frequent  slack  times  when  wages  are  cut  down  or  the  clerks 
are  dismissed.  The  work,  too,  is  fatiguing,  requiring  constant 
standing ;  in  dry  goods  houses  much  lifting  of  heavy  goods  and 
high  reaching ;  the  hours  are  long :  the  clerk  is  but  seldom  in  sun- 
shine or  fresh  air.  Often  clerks  cannot  get  out  at  proper  intervals 
for  their  meals :  if  there  is  a  press  of  customers  the  clerks  may  lose 
their  dinner.  Often  from  six  in  the  morning  until  two  or  three  in 
the  afternoon  they  get  no  food.  The  treatment  of  the  women  clerks 
has  frequently  been  really  brutal.  They  were  forbidden  to  sit  down, 


382  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

and  many  a  delicate  girl  was  forced  to  stand,  even  when  not  imme- 
diately occupied,  for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  daily.  Some  merchants 
are  now  taking  thought  of  this,  and,  listening  to  the  dictates  of  hu- 
manity, are  providing  seats  for  occasional  rest,  and  keeping  young 
men  at  each  counter  to  lift  the  heaviest  goods  and  do  the  highest 
reaching.  No  doubt  this  severity  of  rules,  and  those  other  rules 
that  make  clerks  responsible  for  all  loss,  and  damage,  or  mistake  of 
prices  of  goods  were  provoked  by  the  clerks  themselves.  One  often 
goes  into  a  store,  and  if  the  owner  is  not  in  ear-shot,  a  pert  miss  tells 
you  they  have  not  the  goods  you  seek,  merely  because  she  is  too  in- 
dolent to  look  for  it ;  or  she  is  flirting  with  some  other  clerk  and 
lets  the  customer  stand  vainly  by  the  counter,  waiting  for  attention  ; 
or  you  get  rude  and  reckless  replies.  The  business  of  a  clerk  is  one 
that,  no  doubt,  by  its  myriad  petty  annoyances,  develops  irritability, 
indifference,  and  animosity.  There  is  room  for  improvement  in  both 
clerks  and  employers,  to  say  nothing  of  customers  !  " 

"  I  suppose  wages  advance  as  one  remains  longer,"  said  George. 

"  Yes,  they  are  often  merely  nominal  for  the  first  year  or  so.  In 
many  of  the  grocery  houses,  apprentices  are  taken,  who,  for  the  first 
year,  get  only  their  noonday-meal  and  supper,  and  next  year  a  small 
salary.  A  young  man  who  means  to  follow  the  grocery  business  in 
a  city  should  go  two  years  in  a  retail  house,  and  then  as  long  in  a 
wholesale  house.  Another  year  in  a  retail  house  will  then  not  harm 
him,  for  instead  of  being  an  easy  business,  it  is  a  difficult  one  to 
learn  to  make  prosperous." 

"  Both  men  and  women  are  printers,"  said  Violet. 

"And  type-setting  will  always  be  a  sure  business,  as  printing  will 
increase  and  not  retrograde.  It  is  not  a  business  to  reach  its  acme ; 
it  will  advance,  keeping  pace  with  the  progress  of  man.  Printing  is 
one  of  the  children  of  human  ingenuity  that  will  run  parallel  with 
the  onward  motion  of  the  brain  that  begot  it.  It  is  a  business  always 
reaching  new  developments.  Nothing  is  more  interesting  and  curious 
than  to  trace  the  improvements  in  printing,  taking  books,  say  thirty 
years  apart,  from  145010  1870:  your  fourteen  specimens  of  work 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  38* 

would  show  a  wonderful  march  of  improvement,  from  the  wooden 
block,  the  wooden  separate  type,  the  metal  type,  the  modern  type, 
the  stereotyped,  the  electrotyped,  and  lithographed  work. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  type-setting  or  the  compositor's  work  that  in 
itself  renders  it  improper  for  women  ;  quick  wits,  nimble  fingers,  good 
sight,  industry,  patience,  these  are  capital  requisites  for  a  good 
compositor.  If  more  young  women  were  printers,  and  in  printing 
offices,  possibly  printers'  lives  and  morals  would  be  improved,  and 
there  would  be  less  drinking,  profanity,  and  vileness  heard  of  in  the 
offices.  In  truth,  the  influence  of  women  in  places  where  men  once 
worked  or  studied  by  themselves  was  well  and  incidentally  described 
by  a  distracted  college  professor  thus :  '  Our  boys  ruffle,  and  bellow, 
and  play  tricks,  and  stamp  through  the  halls  with  their  hats  on,  and 
while  one  day  they  are  doing  beautifully,  the  next  day  they  have  a 
spasm  of  acting  like  cubs.  But  let  them  get  into  the  class-room 
where  the  ladies  are  admitted,  or  let  the  girls  pass  through  the  halls 
as  they  go  to  and  fro,  and  our  young  fellows'  voices  are  moderated, 
their  hats  are  off,  their  positions  are  graceful,  their  mirth  is  decent — 
they  are  indubitably  young  gentlemen." 

"  I  suppose  at  the  beginning,  printing  is  not  very  well-paid  work." 

"  No,  and  it  is  dirty  work,  and'  close  work ;  but  it  is  safe  and 
steady  work,  and  demands  and  induces  a  degree  of  intelligence.  No 
business  but  has  its  drawbacks.  Labor  is  a  blessing,  but  it  is  a 
blessing  buckled  to  a  curse.  We  must  look  for  the  hard  part  of 
things,  expect  it,  not  be  daunted  by  it:  we  are  not  living  in  the  Mil- 
lennium." 

"  Proof-reading  comes  closely  beside  printing,"  said  Robert. 

"And  another  business  for  both  men  and  women;  one  to  be  care- 
fully learned.  Proof-readers  will  always  be  needed,  and  more  and 
more  will  be  needed,  but,  in  the  nature  of  things,  not  such  an  army 
as  other  employments  demand." 

"  Does  it  take  long  to  learn  it  ?  "  asked  Harriet. 

"The  long  or  short  of  learning  anything  depends  very  much  on 
the  natural  quickness  of  the  mind  brought  to  bear  on  a  subject.  A 


384  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

proof-reader  needs  to  know  not  only  certain  marks  for  noting  correc- 
tions, and  to  possess  a  marvellous  accuracy  of  eye  for  little  flaws  and 
misplacements,  but  he  must  be  a  person  of  general  information,  and 
of  more  or  less  information  according  to  the  kind  of  proof-reading 
that  he  means  to  do.  It  is  not  merely  that  he  must  be  able  to  see  that 
the  work  set  up  corresponds  to  the  written  manuscript,  but  it  will  be 
well  for  him  to  be  able  to  recognize  a  clerical  error,  and  not  perpetu- 
ate it  in  print.  Suppose  the  author  in  haste  says  Osirus  for  Osiris,  it 
is  well  for  the  proof-reader  to  be  sufficiently  well-informed,  to  know 
that  the  Egyptian  god's  name  ended  in  is.  So,  if  the  proof-reader  is  a 
French,  German,  or  Latin  scholar  enough  to  read  proof  containing 
vthese  languages,  he  is  a  better  and  higher  priced  proof-reader,  and 
surer  of  good  and  continuous  work,  than  one  whose  knowledge  is 
limited  to  '  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.'  The  fact  is,  any 
business  is  capable  of  large  developments — the  more  one  knows  the 
better  they  will  do  in  anything.  If  a  printer  can  read  German  and 
French  so  as  to  set  type  at  sight,  and  not  letter  by  letter,  in  these 
tongues,  he  has  a  wider  field  and  better  chances.  Trouble  is  our 
young  folks  will  not  take  leisure  to  learn.  We  are  in  too  much  hurry 
to  expect  to  be  wise.  We  want  to  set  up  with  a  mere  smattering  for 
our  capital.  There  is  too  much  rush  ;  slowness  and  dawdling  are 
not  American  faults,  but  hurry,  bustle,  slighting  of  subjects — these 
are  American  faults.  Let  us  learn  to  take  leisure  to  grow  wise — to 
learn  what  we  pretend  to  know.  Listen  to  the  poet: 

"  '  The  grass  hath  time  to  grow  in  meadow  lands, 

And  leisurely  the  opal,  murmuring  sea, 
Breaks  on  her  yellow  sands  ; 

"  'And  leisurely  the  ring-dove  on  her  nest 

Broods  till  her  tender  chick  will  pierce  the  shell : 
And  leisurely  down  fall  from  ferny  crest 
The  dewdrops  on  the  well ; 

"  'And  leisurely  your  life  and  spirit  grew, 

With  yet  the  time  to  grow  and  ripen  free. 
No  judgment  past  withdraws  that  boon  from  yon.'" 


PURSUITS  FOR   MEN  AND    WOMEN.  385 

"  If  we  must  take  time  to  educate  ourselves  well  in  these  things, 
we  must  take  more  yet  for  the  next  ascent — to  the  editor's  chair," 
said  John  Frederick. 

"  But  women  are  not  editors,"  interposed  Henry. 

"  O,  you  speak  hastily,  Henry.  Many  women  have  been  editors, 
and  some  very  successful  ones.  But  this  is  a  line  of  life  where 
more  of  both  sexes  fail  than  succeed.  Education,  natural  aptitude, 
practical  experience  of  the  business,  and  a  sound  judgment,  are  all 
needed  to  save  a  man  from  failure.  To  make  him  a  success,  demands 
even  a  much  more  happy  concatenation  of  circumstances.  One  cannot 
come  out  of  the  country,  flushed  with  the  honors  of  a  high  school, 
and,  with  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  dollars  in  his  pocket,  be  certain 
to  make  a  famous  editor,  and  amass  a  fortune.  It  is  needful  to  climb 
patiently  up  the  slow  rounds  of  the  office  ladder,  and  then  perhaps 
at  last  you  will  find  that  one  may  be  a  very  admirable  'sub,'  a  wise 
and  witty  reporter,  and  yet  not  be  capable  of  holding  the  chief  place 
on  a  popular  paper.  As  for  reporting,  that  is  done  by  both  men  and 
women ;  for  it  is  demanded  quick  wits,  a  ready  flow  of  language,  an 
eye  for  salient  points,  power  of  condensation,  and  of  expansion  also, 
and  a  first-rate  knowledge  of  stenography,  or  short-hand.  Even  pos- 
sessing all  these  qualifications,  it  is  dangerous  to  come  to  the  city  to 
'  hunt  for  a  position,'  unless  you  have  friends  to  help  you,  and  to 
offer  you  a  home,  and  advice  during  your  quest.  How  often  is  the 
story  repeated,  of  the  youth  from  country  or  village,  going  to  the 
city  with  all  the  money  he  can  raise,  and  there  remaining,  searching 
for  work,  until  funds  and  hope  are  exhausted.  This  is  putting  one's 
self  in  the  way  of  temptation.  Poverty,  disappointment,  ignorance 
of  the  snares  of  city  life,  betray  one  into  dangers  from  which  few  such 
adventurers  escape.  If  this  risk  is  hardly  to  be  run  by  young  men, 
it  is  doubly  disastrous  for  women.  Better  accept  any  honest  em- 
ployment in  the  neighborhoods  where  you  are  known,  and  where 
you  understand  your  surroundings.  For  one  success  that  is  trum- 
peted abroad,  count  a  million  failures,  wrecks  unchronicled." 

"  But  the  books,  sir,"  said  Dora ;  "  such  quantities  of  books  tell 
25 


386  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

of  country  boys  and  girls  that  go  bravely  to  the^  city  to  seek  their 
fortunes,  and  in  a  little  while  are  rich  and  honored." 

"  The  books,  my  Dora,  are  very  few  of  them  true.  A  story  is  a 
work  of  art,  and  must  proceed  on  certain  rules  of  art.  It  is  designed 
primarily  to  give  pleasure  to  the  reader.  If  it  does  not  do  this,  if  it 
leaves  a  painful  impression  on  his  mind,  then  it  will  not  sell.  The 
hero  or  heroine  must  turn  out  well,  or  the  book  will  stay  unbought 
on  the  shelves,  if  indeed  it  ever  finds  a  publisher.  It  is  required 
that  the  tale  should  lie  within  the  limits  of  the  possible,  else  it  offends 
by  its  incongruity.  Sometimes  a  fantasy,  a  thing  quite  out  of  the 
boundaries  of  reason,  as,  for  instance,  the  'Arabian  Nights/  the 
'Tales  of  Munchausen,'  and  the  imaginations  of  Jules  Verne,  will 
please  popular  taste,  because  so  far  from  the  range  of  the  ordinary. 
But  if  you  are  looking  for  examples  to  follow,  you  must  look  into 
something  more  reliable  than  a  tale." 

"  But  in  real  life  people  do  reach  wonderful  heights,  even  from 
lowest  depths,"  said  George.  "  Think  of  Lincoln." 

"And  what  manner  of  man  was  Lincoln  ?  Always  sure  of  his 
ground  before  he  trod  on  it.  A  man  who,  when  he  undertook  to 
read  law,  and  ascertained  that  there  were  mathematical  formulae, 
references,  processes  of  reasoning  of  which  he  had  never  heard, 
bought  a  Euclid  and  trudged  home,  willing  to  spend  a  wlwle  winter 
in  learning  it,  if  thereby  he  might  be  able  to  -argue  more  keenly  and 
clearly.  Such  work  was  not  rash  venture :  it  was  a  succession  of 
certainties,  some  of  them  small  enough,  but  each  making  way  for  the 
next." 

"  But,  sir,"  said  Violet,  "  you  know  that  these  young  men  and 
women,  who  go  to  the  cities  to  look  for  literary  employment,  help 
themselves  along  by  writing  for  the  magazines  and  story  papers." 

"  In  the  story-book,  Violet !  In  real  life,  when  they  try  that,  their 
work  usually  gets  into  the  waste-basket,  even  unacknowledged,  or 
is  noticed,  to  be  '  declined  with  thanks.'  Thanks  butter  no  bread. 
Do  not  forget  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  sending  manuscripts 
through  the  mail,  or  by  express,  and  you  will  do  well  to  try  your 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  887 

fortune  thus  while  you  are  safe  at  home,  instead  of  taking  a  roll  of 
written  papers,  spending  your  last  ten  dollars  in  getting  to  a  city,  and 
then  going  wearily  from  sanctum  to  sanctum,  to  see  if  any  one  will 
buy  them.  Indeed,  you  are  more  likely  to  succeed  with  a  mailed 
manuscript,  than  with  one  personally  presented." 

"And  why  so,  sir  ?  "  asked  Violet. 

"  Because  you  will  not  have  aggravated  the  editor  by  taking  up 
his  time  in  a  call.  It  may  be  that  your  manuscript  will  be  more 
promising  than  your  personal  appearance.  If  you  are  young,  and 
look  timid,  the  hasty  editor  may  conclude  that  you  can  do  nothing 
for  him.  While  if  your  manuscript  is  handsomely  written,  on  only 
one  side  of  the  paper,  is  not  rolled,  and  begins  briskly,  it  may  catch 
one's  fancy.  But  you  young  folks  have  very  false  ideas  about  litera- 
ture and  its  results." 

"How  so,  if  you  please?"  said  George,  eagerly.  "People  have 
become  very  rich  on  it.  Scott  made  a  splendid  fortune.  He  got  ten 
thousand  for  the  'Lady  of  the  Lake'  Tennyson  gets  over  twenty 
thousand  a  year ;  Dickens  made  an  immense  sum ;  George  Eliot 
a  half  million  ;  Macaulay  got  fifty  thousand  dollars  at  one  payment. 
D'Israeli  has  made  hundreds  of  thousands;  Charlotte  Bronte  found 
herself  famous  one  morning;  Mrs.  Browning  made  herself  rich; 
Lord  Byron  netted  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Bret 
Harte  gets  six  thousand  a  year,  and  Mark  Twain  gets  a  hundred 
thousand  per  annum."  -  . 

"You  are  good  at  statistics,  George,  but  I  do  not  wish  you  to 
delude  yourself.  Let  us  look  at  these  assertions.  D'Israeli  is  a 
potent  and  flattered  prime  minister.  Nothing  else  would  make  his 
books  bring  him  fifty  pounds  a  year.  His  returns  are  really  not  from 
literature,  but  from  fashion  and  politics.  Get  his  position  and  you 
can  sell — anything.  Mark  Twain  is  a  humorist,  and  no  mental  qual- 
ity is  so  scarce,  and  consequently  so  high-priced,  as  genuine  humor. 
Men,  driven  to  distraction,  stupor,  melancholy,  in  the  rush  and  care 
of  life,  regard  the  merry  man  as  a  god-send.  Once,  all  wealthy 
families  kept  dwarfs  or  jesters  to  relieve  their  minds  of  care.  In 


388  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Mrs.  Browning,  George  Eliot,  and  Tennyson,  you  mention  three 
people  of  towering  genius,  and  if  you  have  their  genius,  you  will 
indubitably  get  their  reward.  While  Byron  was  getting  his  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand,  Shelley  was  driven  to  distraction  by 
poverty.  Sterne  could  not  sell  'Tristram  Shandy'  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  'Jane  Eyre'  was  refused  by  every  prominent 
London  publisher,  before  it  made  its  author  briefly  famous.  Mot- 
ley's 'Dutch  Republic '  was  declined  by  one  sapient  editor.  George 
Eliot  herself  fought  long  and  hard  before  she  got  a  hearing ;  'Rob- 
inson Crusoe'  went  begging  for  a  publisher,  while  poor  De  Foe  lay 
in  jail  for  debt.  Carlyle's  'French  Revolution'  was  also  declined; 
Kinglake  was  forced  to  give  away  his  'EotJien'  Anthony  Trollope 
made  sixty  dollars  in  one  year  by  hard  work.  Charles  Lamb  made 
sixpence  apiece  by  some  of  his  exquisite  paragraphs.  Thackeray  so 
often  failed  of  getting  a  hearing,  that  he  was  nearly  desperate.  Pope 
was  almost  the  only  man  of  his  age  that  made  a  competence  by  pub- 
lishing, and  his  '  Iliad '  was  the  only  well-paid  work  of  that  genera- 
tion. It  is  no  doubt  true,  that  the  only  writers  of  to-day  who 
are  sure  of  a  good  living  are  those  who  can  reel  out  'sensation 
novels/  with  the  celerity  with  which  a  machine  cuts  out  buttons." 

"  But  some  must  succeed,"  said  Catherine.  "  What  an  enormous 
amount  of  publishing  is  done  !  " 

"  Very  true  ;  but  much  for  small  returns.  Now  look  at  this  matter 
arithmetically.  Our  magazines  pay  say  five  dollars  a  page.  At  this 
rate,  if  a  writer  got  in  every  month  (and  how  exceptional  are  such 
cases),  he  would  earn  five  or  six  hundred  a  year.  Now  five  or  six 
hundred  might  be  fair  pay  for  the  time  spent  in  doing  the  work,  but 
it  is  a  small  sum  to  live  on,  and  yet  hard  to  obtain.  Suppose  you 
get  a  contribution  in  a  story  paper,  or  a  lower-priced  magazine. 
You  get  ten  dollars  for  it.  Perhaps  you  wrote  it  in  a  week.  You 
can  live  on  ten  dollars  a  week.  If  you  got  one  article  in  every  week, 
you  might  make  a  meagre  support  for  yourself  alone.  But,  you 
send  in  this  contribution,  and  it  is  four  or  five  weeks  before  it  is  used, 
and  perhaps  two  months  before  you  get  in  another.  Johnson 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  38b 

starved  on,  for  twenty  years,  before  he  found  himself  well  paid  and 
famous.  There  are  very  few  who,  by  constant  study  and  the  most 
diligent  work,  can  make  a  fair  living  by  literature  within  twenty 
years  of  their  first  venture.  There  may  be  exceptional  cases,  where 
one  belongs  to  a  literary  clique,  or  is  of  the  family  of  an  editor  or 
publisher,  or  he  may  be  rich  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  his  first 
efforts,  and  so  get  a  start.  Without  these  favoring  circumstances, 
candidates  will  find  that  literature  returns  even  bread  very  slowly. 
Fortunes  from  authorship  are  few  and  far  between  ;  even  a  livelihood 
is  not  the  rule  ;  more  perish  by  the  way  than  hold  their  own ;  but 
it  is  of  those  that  succeed  that  we  hear,  the  rest  die  and  give  no 
sign." 

"But  if  all  heeded  your  discouraging  talk,  the  next  generation 
would  have  no  authors,"  said  Violet,  mournfully. 

"  Where  the  true  literary  instinct  is,  it  will  make  its  way  in  spite 
of  threatened  starvation,"  said  the  Stranger,  smiling.  "  Its  life  is 
buoyant  and  persistent,  as  that  of  the  seed  that  in  its  growing  splits  a 
rock,  or  lifts  a  boulder.  I  tell  you  these  plain  truths  about  this  pro- 
fession, not  to  discourage,  but  to  caution.  Never  give  up  any  safe 
certainty,  even  if  small,  to  venture  on  the  troubled  seas  of  literature. 
If  you  are  teaching  a  school,  or  working  in  any  honest  way  that 
supports  you,  and  have  still  a  yearning  to  try  your  fortune  in  author- 
ship, do  not  give  up  the  certain  for  the  barely  possible.  Go  to  work, 
and  test  your  fate  if  you  will ;  write  your  best,  and  try  and  sell  what 
you  write.  But  do  this,  not  to  the  detriment  of  the  labor  that  is 
producing  bread  and  shoes.  Hold  fast  what  you  have,  and  do  not 
give  it  up,  until  you  have  proved  that  you  can  do  as  well,  at  least,  in 
literary  pursuits.  And  do  not  turn  to  writing  with  any  fancy  that  it 
is  an  easy  life  ;  that  you  can  '  sit  down  and  rattle  off  something,'  and 
that  the  public  will  pay  you  for  it.  Or,  that  you  can  work  at  a 
desk,  an  hour  now  and  another  then,  as  it  suits  you,  and  spend  most 
of  your  time  being  lionized  in  society.  Society  does  not  take  to 
lionising  now-a-days ;  and  the  public  will  not  pay  for  what  you 
'  rattle  off.'  No  pursuit  is  so  relentless  in  its  toils  as  literature.  Here 


390  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

indeed  like  merchants'  ships  one  must  bring  food  from  far ;  you  must 
be  resolute  to  spend  years  on  a  single  theme;  willing  to  search  for 
hours  for  one  fact,  or  for  one  reference ;  able  to  yield  amusement  to 
tireless  work ;  society,  fashion,  pleasure,  must  all  be  laid  on  the  altar 
of  your  muse,  and  even  then,  expect  no  large  returns." 

"And  all  this,  for  twenty  years?  "  asked  Laura. 

"Very  likely.  For  the  first  two  years  you  will  get  nothing,  or 
almost  nothing.  Then  you  may  reach  Trollope's  height,  and  get 
sixty  or  a  hundred  dollars.  At  the  end  of  five  or  six  years,  you 
may  count  on  three  or  four  hundred  a  year,  if  you  are  lucky.  That 
is,  if  you  have  originality,  and  are  a  hard  student.  By  the  end  of 
ten  or  twelve  years,  let  us  hope  you  will  get  a  thousand  a  year,  by 
unrelaxing  effort.  When  you  have  given  twenty  years  of  toil,  you 
may  have  reached  a  measure  of  reputation,  and  two  or  three  thou- 
sand a  year.  But  remember  I  am  now  sketching  more  than  usually 
successful  literary  life.  And  when  you  have  attained  this  point,  you 
will  yet  have  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  a  great  many  people  do 
not  know  who  you  are,  or  what  you  ever  wrote ;  that  your  manu- 
scripts are  occasionally  '  respectfully  declined  ;  '  that  an  editor  will 
offer  you  from  one  to  three  dollars  a  column  ;  that  a  publisher  will 
think  you  should  take  seven  or  eight  hundred  for  something  that 
has  occupied  your  best  thoughts  for  years,  and  that  not  only  the  un- 
initiated, but  even  publishers,  fancy  that  you  did  in  two  or  three 
months  the  work  that  really  occupies  as  many  years ;  or  coolly  take 
it  for  granted  that  some  volume  of  extracts  cost  'five  times  the 
labor,'  that  you  have  put  on  work,  that  with  anvil  stroke  and 
furnace  heat,  year  after  year,  you  have  fashioned  into  something 
strong  and  new.  All  this,  if  you  were  born  for  it,  you  will  meet  and 
endure,  simply  because,  like  the  Lady  of  Shallott,  'your  fate  has 
come  upon  you.' " 

"I  have  heard  it  said,"  remarked  Robert,  "  that  one  is  far  more 
likely  to  make  rapid  success  in  writing,  if  they  are  able  also  to  draw, 
and  so  can  illustrate  what  they  write." 

"  No  doubt.     The  public  more  and  more  demands  illustration. 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  391 

Wood-engraving  is  not  only  making  rapid  progress  toward  perfec- 
tion in  itself,  but  is  becoming  more  popularly  used.  This  is  an  age 
of  picture-making,  as  well  as  of  printing.  Among  picture-makers 
the  caricaturist  stands  as  the  humorist  among  writers.  His  talent 
is  exceptional.  Such  a  man  as  Nast  becomes  a  power.  He  amuses 
people ;  he  also  commands  and  instructs  them.  Real  humor  is  not 
the  froth  of  the  mind,  like  punning,  but  it  has  deep  and  solemn 
springs  in  our  nature.  Thus  we  see  that  the  finest  humorists  have 
been  capable  of  the  tenderest  pathos,  and  of  intense  sadness.  How- 
ever, don't  fancy  if  you  can'  draw  a  recognizable  cow,  or  a  horse 
that  shall  not  hang  in  question  between  an  elephant  and  a  crocodile, 
that  you  are  an  artist.  People  can  draw  a  little,  or  sketch  very  fairly, 
who  yet  should  never  devote  themselves  to  art." 

"  Well,  suppose  one  is  resolved  to  pursue  art,  what  are  the  steps  to 
take?"  said  Peter. 

"  Remember  that  the  real  artist,  especially  the  illustrator  of  books, 
must  know  something  more  than  how  to  wield  brush  or  pencil.  A 
literary  education,  a.  good  knowledge  of  general  literature,  history, 
archaeology,  mythology,  and  classics,  is  part  of  the  capital  of  a  suc- 
cessful artist.  True,  in  a  great  genius  for  painting,  the  want  of  this 
knowledge  is  overlooked,  and  the  public  patiently  endure  seeing  the 
Prodigal  Son's  riotous  companions  dressed  in  the  garments  of  the 
thirteenth  or  fourteenth  century ;  Samson  drinking  wine  with 
Delilah  out  of  a  goblet  of  Venetian  glass,  and  Pius  ALneas  in  top 
boots  waiting  upon  Dido,  who  carries  a  Spanish  fan  ;  or  Judas,  in  rev- 
erent admiration,  beholding,  with  the  eleven  other  apostles,  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord.  Great  genius,  I  tell  you,  may  antic  in  this 
fashion  of  anachronisms  and  be  forgiven ;  but  if  you  have  the  least 
doubt  of  the  greatness  of  your  genius,  be  sure  and  fall  back  on  a  good 
strong  reserve  of  knowledge  and  training!  It  is  a  part  of  the  human 
creed  that  undeniable  genius  is  a  privileged  thing  :  it  has  its  devel- 
opment less  than  once  in  a  century.  Few  even  of  swans'  eggs  will 
produce  a  Castor  and  Pollux." 

"  But  must  one  wait  until  one  has  all  this  literary  education  before 
learning  anything  about  drawing  ?  "  asked  Dora. 


392  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Not  entirely,  because  with  a  taste  for  drawing  one  sketches  con- 
tinually, and,  lacking  instruction,  may  fall  into  bad,  inartistic  habits 
that  will  be  hard  to  break.  Still,  having  no  teacher  is  better  than  having 
a  poor  one,  a  smatterer  who  will  inculcate  wrong  principles  of  art.  If 
there  is  a  good  teacher  near  you,  it  is  best  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  to 
begin  to  take  lessons  in  drawing.  Be  patient  in  practising  clear  line 
drawing,  and  then  shading ;  and  beware  of  rushing  prematurely  into 
coloring.  Get  books  on  art,  on  drawing,  on  artists,  and,  being  sure 
that  they  are  by  competent  authorities,  study  them  well.  If  you 
wish  to  make  art  your  business,  by  the  time  you  are  sixteen  you  will 
do  well  to  go  to  some  art  school  to  study,  unless  you  are  able  first  to 
fortify  your  mind  with  a  collegiate  education.  In  all  our  great  cities, 
as  Boston,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Cincinnati,  and  others,  there  are 
endowed  art  schools  where  one  follows  for  three  or  four  years  a  care- 
fully arranged  course  of  study,  superintended  by  the  best  of  teachers. 
Some  of  our  prominent  artists  also  take  private  pupils,  but  their 
terms  are  necessarily  higher  than  those  of  the  schools.  Along  with 
your  art  studies  continue  your  general  reading,  and  as  much  as  pos- 
sible all  other  literary  pursuits  that  shall  develop  the  creative  powers 
of  your  mind.  Cultivate  also  close  observation  of  nature,  and  make 
a  study  of  the  natural  sciences. 

"  Let  us  suppose  that  you  have  graduated  from  the  art  school  by 
the  time  you  are  twenty-two.  Now,  if  you  have  money  to  permit 
it,  a  European  tour  will  be  of  the  greatest  advantage.  You  can  visit 
the  art  treasures  of  the  old  world ;  study  them  ;  draw  in  the  gal- 
leries. If  oil  painting  is  your  preferred  line  of  art,  study  under  some 
of  the  masters  in  Paris,  Munich,  Florence,  and  Rome,  will  well  oc- 
cupy two  or  three  years.  The  living  will  not  be  particularly  expen- 
sive :  about  the  same  as  in  New  York  or  Baltimore.  But  the  tuition 
and  material  in  art  study  is  always  costly. 

"If  you  intend  to  illustrate  books,  to  draw  for  magazines  and 
papers,  you  will  do  well,  after  studying  on  your  own  account  in  the 
famous  European  galleries,  to  return  home  at  the  end  of  two  years 
and  get  to  work." 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  393 

"  But  this  creative  power,  this  faculty  of  design  that  you  mentioned, 
is  a  natural  gift,  is  it  not?  "  said  Peter. 

"  It  is.  It  is  shared  by  the  artist,  the  author,  the  musician.  It  is 
genius  in  less"  or  more  development — a  divine  faculty.  Still  it  is 
capable  of  increase  by  education  and  also  of  direction;  without  it 
one  is  not  an  artist,  but  a  mere  copyist ;  his  work  always  trite  and 
lifeless.  Some  have  this  creative  faculty  in  a  high  degree,  but  lack 
facility  of  expression,  either  with  pen  or  pencil,  or  that  accuracy  of 
eye  which  would  make  them  artists.  I  sum  up  all  I  have  to  say  on 
art,  thus : 

"  i.  Be  patient. 

"  2.  Study  hard. 

"  3.  Get  the  best  instruction  you  can. 

"  4.  And  beware  of  meddling  too  soon  with  color." 

"One  goes  abroad  to  study  music,  too  ?  "  said  Catherine. 

"  It  is  true,  that  in  Europe,  one  finds  facilities  for  a  more  finished 
education  in  music,  either  vocal  or  instrumental,  than  this  country 
can,  as  yet,  afford.  But  we  have  in  the  United  States,  musical 
schools,  where  one  can  make  fair  progress,  and  become  either  a  pro- 
ficient teacher,  or  a  concert-singer.  It  undoubtedly  gives  one  a 
reputation,  a  better  position  in  the  profession,  to  have  had  a  few 
years  of  study  in  Europe.  This  involves  a  deal  of  expense,  long 
absence  from  home,  many  perils,  and  should  not  be  rashly  under- 
taken." 

"And  if  we  do  undertake  it  ?  "  said  Laura. 

"  First  be  sure  that  you  have  money  to  carry  out  your  plan. 
Choose  your  place  of  study,  and  write  to  some  one  there  to  ascer- 
tain the  terms  of  instruction,  and  find  for  you  a  boarding-place,  in  a 
reputable  family,  where  the  terms  suit  your  means.  Then  secure 
company  for  the  journey,  even  if  this  causes  you  a  delay.  Try  and 
be  where  you  have  some  friend  or  adviser  of  your  own  nation,  to  fall 
back  on  in  case  of  difficulty.  Have  a  reliable  banker,  and  don't 
carry  much  money  around  with  you." 

"  We  must  not  forget  the  study  of  medicine,"  said  Thomas,  "  it  is 


394  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

open  to  men  and  women,  and  hundreds  are  pursuing  it.  Explain  to 
us  about  that." 

"  You,  Thomas,  having  a  physician  for  your  father,  have  had  un- 
usual facilities  for  pursuing  this,  your  chosen  profession.  I  am  glad 
that  you  have  not  neglected  your  literary  education,  but  have  been 
through  college.  One  cannot  be  too  well  educated  for  a  physician. 
The  public  will  more  and  more  demand  in  the  doctor  a  careful 
course  of  general  study,  as  well  as  the  study  of  medicine.  In  any 
profession  the  best  informed  man,  other  things  being  equal,  is  the 
most  successful  man.  Our  country  is  well  provided  with  medical 
schools,  both  for  men  and  women.  A  course  of  lectures  sufficient 
for  graduation  occupies  the  term  times  of  three  years.  Some  few 
pupils  can,  during  the  last  year,  get  positions  in  the  hospitals  of  the 
city  where  they  are  studying,  and  acting  as  hospital  stewards,  dis- 
pensary clerks,  or  assistant  physicians,  not  only  gain  experience,  but 
help  pay  their  way.  Many  young  men  also  serve  as  druggists' 
clerks  during  their  medical  course.  They  agree  to  spend  certain 
hours  per  day  at  the  drug-store,  either  wholesale  or  retail.  The 
remuneration  is  small,  being  from  four  to  eight  dollars  a  week, 
but  they  have  the  advantage  of  getting  a  better  knowledge  of  drugs 
and  prescriptions.  When  the  three  years'  course  of  study  is  con- 
cluded, nothing  is  more  advantageous  than  two  years  of  hospital 
practice.  If  a  young  doctor  can  afford  to  go  abroad  and  '  walk  the 
hospitals '  of  Paris,  Berlin,  Antwerp,  and  London,  it  will  be  to  him  a 
life-long  advantage,  and  worth  a  sacrifice  of  time  and  money.  In 
fact,  one  cannot  be  too  well  furnished  for  so  arduous  and  important 
profession  as  that  of  medicine.  The  physician  has  in  his  hands 
the  life,  health,  even  in  a  large  degree  the  morals,  of  his  patients. 
Not  only  the  curing  of  the  sick,  but  the  preservation  of  health  in  the 
healthy,  and  the  cultivation  of  a  sound  constitution  in  the  young, 
belong  to  his  province.  He  must  be  in  his  place,  as  the  pastor  is 
commanded  to  be,  'perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good 
work.' " 

"And  what  do  you  think,"  said  Thomas,  "  of  this  new  fashion  of 
women  being  doctors  ?  " 


PURSUITS  FOR  MEN  AND    WOMEN.  395 

"  I  will  reply  to  you,  Thomas,  that  it  is  not  a  new  fashion  :  it  is  a 
revival  of  an  old-time  practice.  There  was  a  time  in  England,  during 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  a3  we  learn  from  Chaucer,  the 
romances,  ballads,  and  chronicles,  when  women  were  the  physicians, 
when  nearly  all  medical  practitioners  were  women.  In  Italy,  women 
were  long  among  the  most  popular  and  successful  physicians,  not 
tyros,  guessing  their  way,  but  learned  and  carefully  instructed  in  all 
that  could  then  be  known  of  medical  science.  The  whole  history  of 
Italy  has  been  accompanied  by  learned,  famous,  influential  women : 
from  Numa's  nymph  Egeria,  through  Lucretia,  Cornelia,  Livia  and 
other  renowned  matrons  of  the  classic  ages,  to  Vittoria  Colonna, 
Olympia  Morata,  Elizabeth  Sirani,  Corilla ;  and  in  the  university 
professors,  Clotilde  Tombron,  Laura  Bassi,  Novella  D'Andrea,  and 
others.  Italy  has  been  resplendent  in  learned  and  famous  women. 
It  is  true  that  the  majority  of  Italian  women  have  been  superstitious 
and  uninstructed,  but  continually  some  brilliant  intellect  has  arisen 
among  them,  and  always  has  been  permitted  unhindered  to  do  the 
best  that  she  could.  Doubtless  there  are  far  fewer  women  than  men 
who  in  these  days  have  a  true  calling  to  the  medical  profession,  but 
no  doubt  some  women  have  all  the  needful  qualities  for  useful  physi- 
cians. And  many  have  vindicated  by  their  success,  the  right  to 
pursue  this  profession." 

"  Have  we  exhausted  all  the  joint  pursuits  of  men  and  women?" 
asked  Catherine. 

"No:    I    am   about   to   mention   one   that   will   surprise   you  — 

NAVIGATION." 

"  O,  what !  "  cried  George.  "A  woman  sail  a  ship  !  " 
"  Unless  some  women  had  been  able  to  sail  a  ship,  there  have 
been  times  when  ships  and  men  had  been  cast  away.  Lay  it  down 
that  no  knowledge,  except  of  evil,  is  useless,  nor  is  the  time  wasted 
that  is  spent  in  acquiring  valuable  information  on  any  subject.  I 
hold  that  every  young  man  should  learn  something  about  naviga- 
tion. Nor  will  young  women  find  the  knowledge  come  amiss,  if  it 
lies  in  their  way  to  obtain  it.  I  will  give  you  three  instances  where 


396  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

a  woman's  knowledge  of  navigation  proved  of  great  service.  One  of 
the  ship  inspectors  of  an  Eastern  port  is  a  widow  lady,  who  thereby 
maintains  her  young  family.  She  received  this  position  as  hav- 
ing demonstrated  her  capacity  to  fill  it.  Her  husband  was  a 
ship  captain,  and  while  she  was  with  him  on  a  voyage  he  and  the 
first  mate  died.  No  others  of  the  crew  knew  how  to  sail  the  ship, 
but  she  successfully  navigated  it  home.  Another  instance  is  this :  A 
ship  captain,  cruising  among  the  Pacific  islands,  had  with  him  his 
wife  and  daughter.  A  sickness  broke  out  in  the  vessel.  The  first 
mate  died  ;  the  captain  was  ill  and  delirious ;  the  second  mate  knew 
nothing-  of  navigation.  The  captain  had,  however,  thoroughly  in- 
structed his  daughter  how  to  sail  a  ship.  Week  after  week  the 
heroic  girl  held  her  father's  place,  while  the  obedient  crew  looked 
on  her  as  their  guardian  angel.  She  brought  the  ship  in  triumph 
through  the  Golden  Gate. 

"  For  a  long  time,  one  of  the  coast  trading  vessels  in  England  had 
a  woman  for  its  captain.  The  story  was  this :  The  owner  and  cap- 
tain of  the  ship  had  often  taken  with  him  his  only  daughter  by  his 
first  wife,  and  he  had  taught  this  girl  all  that  he  himself  knew.  He 
died,  leaving  his  second  wife  a  widow  with  a  family  of  small  chil- 
dren. To  support  this  household,  the  eldest  daughter  kept  on  sailing 
and  trading  as  her  father  had  done.  She  took  with  her  as  stewardess 
her  old  aunt,  and  continued  her  cruising,  until  she  had  trained  her 
eldest  half-brother  to  fill  her  place.  I  do  not  think  that  sailing  a 
ship  is,  by  any  means,  the  kind  of  life  that  a  young  woman  would 
desire;  but  knowing  how  to  do  it  might  some 'time  be  very  useful  to 
her.  If  it  comes  in  her  way,  she  should  learn  that,  as  any  other 
helpful  thing." 

"  We  are  hearing  of  a  great  many  ways  of  making  our  living," 
said  Harriet.  "  But  will  you  suggest  now  some  other  occupations 
that  can  be  learned  in  any  part  of  the  country  ?  " 

"  I  will  group  together  three,  which,  however,  have  no  dependence 
on  each  other — Stenography,  Bookkeeping,  and  Elocution.  You  will 
none  of  you  be  worse  off  for  knowing  these  things,  and,  for  the  most 


PURSUITS  FOR   MEN  AND    WOMEN.  397 

part,  they  can  be  self-acquired.  For  the  bookkeeping  you  need  a 
fine,  clear  handwriting,  and  this  every  young  person  should  aim  at 
attaining.  If  you  get  a  good  work  on  stenography,  you  can  learn 
it  by  yourself.  You  can  also  in  this  way  learn  much  of  book- 
keeping, though  a  term  or  two  at  a  commercial  college  will  be  of 
great  advantage.  If  you  study  a  work  on  elocution,  and  practise 
reading,  carefully  carrying  out  the  rules  laid  down,  then  you  cannot 
fail  to  become  at  least  a  fair  reader.  You  should,  however,  try  and 
get  a  good  reader  to  give  you  some  lessons. 

"Avoid  affectation  in  reading ;  read  naturally;  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  what  you  read,  and  do  not  try  to  read  what  you  do  not  under- 
stand. That  will  be  parrot-reading. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  useful  to  a  young  man  or  woman  than  a 
knowledge  of  bookkeeping.  Kvery  family  should  have  a  family  book- 
keeper, who  in  a  business-like  manner  keeps  the  accounts  of  the 
household.  If  there  is  a  farm  or  a  workshop,  or  any  trade  connected 
with  the  family,  let  one  of  the  young  people  keep  the  accounts  for 
this.  Parents  should  without  fail  see  that  this  is  done,  and  that  the 
children  are  interested  thus  in  the  home  affairs.  It  will  inculcate 
good  business  principles,  make  the  young  folks  interested,  economi- 
cal and  wise  in  domestic  management,  and  will  teach  them  how  to 
conduct  their  own  finances  and  households,  and  to  keep  out  of  debt. 
The  young  members  of  a  family  should  by  turns  hold  this  office  of 
bookkeeper,  until  all  are  well  versed  in  its  duties." 

"  What  good  will  the  stenography  do  us,  if  we  are  not  to  be  re- 
porters ?  "  asked  Dora. 

"  You  may  often  hear  a  lecture,  a  speech,  a  recitation,  a  sermon, 
which  you  will  desire  to  secure  for  future  reference.  If  you  are  a 
rapid  stenographer,  you  can  take  it  down  without  trouble.  You  may 
be  away  from  home,  and  you  would  find  matters  of  much  interest 
to  communicate  to  your  county  or  village  paper,  a  knowledge  of 
shorthand  would  thus  be  creditable  to  you,  and  enable  you  to  be 
useful  and  agreeable  to  your  neighbors. 

"As  far  as  the  elocution  goes,  few  are  likely  to  be  teachers  of  this 


398  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

art,  and  these  few  only  by  severe  study,  and  the  best  of  instruction ; 
but  good  reading  is  always  useful,  in  the  home  or  the  social  circle. 
A  far  less  costly  accomplishment  than  music,  good  reading  is 
capable  of  conferring  quite  as  much  pleasure." 

"  Have  you  forgotten  telegraphy,  as  a  business  for  men  and 
women?"  said  Henry. 

"  No,  but  when  we  have  talked  as  long  as  we  can,  we  shall  have 
yet  omitted  many  things;  and  by  the  time  you  are  ten  years  older 
new  kinds  of  work  will  have  sprung  up  to  occupy  open  hands. 
Telegraphy  is  not  a  hard  business  to  learn ;  it  is  also  a  business  that 
is  constantly  developing,  and  will  need  more  and  more  operators. 
Most  of  the  reading  is  now  done  by  ear.  Once  the  marks  were 
struck  on  paper,  and  then  read ;  now  the  acute  ear  of  the  operator 
catches  the  message  as  it  clicks  on  his  instrument,  and  he  takes  it 
down  as  fast  as  it  comes." 

"That  must  be  very  difficult,"  said  Robert. 

"It  is  quite  wonderful  how  soon  one  learns  it.  You  will  see  that 
a  habit  of  fixed  attention,  a  clear  and  rapid  penmanship  are  needed. 
Also,  your  operator  must  be  no  gossip :  if  he  chatters  what  comes 
over  his  wires  he  will,  and  deservedly,  lose  his  place.  It  is  a  busi- 
ness where  mistakes  are  dangerous,  and  the  operator  must  be  scrupu- 
lously careful.  A  message  went  from  New  Orleans  to  Havana 
dictated  thus  :  '  Send  me  one  or  two  monkeys.'  One  of  the  operators, 
undertaking  to  write  '  I  or  2  monkeys,'  got  it  '102  monkeys.'  Next 
day  answer  came:  'I  have  shipped  you  seventy-five  of  the  monkeys 
— the  other  twenty-seven  will  go  to-morrow.'  Imagine  the  situa- 
tion !" 

"  I  shall  not  forget  that  when  I  am  a  telegraph  clerk,"  said  one  of 
the  young  men ;  "  but  as  the  hour  grows  late  will  you  give  us  all  a 
few  hints  of  things  that  we  ought  to  learn  to  secure  success  in  any- 
thing ?  " 

"Learn,  1st.  To  be  scrupulously  honest  and  exact  in  every  par- 
ticular. 

"  2d.  Always  to  do  the  best  that  can  be  done.   If  you  are  sweeping 


PURSUITS  FOR   MEN  AND    WOMEN.  399 

a  walk,  or  washing  a  window,  or  writing  a  note,  don't  put  less  than 
your  very  best  strokes  on  it. 

"  3d.  Always,  in  knowledge,  be  in  advance  of  your  work  :  so  only 
can  you  lift  up  your  work  or  yourselves  to  higher  things.  Study 
the  development  of  your  occupation. 

"4th.  Learn  to  use  your  left  hand,  lest  you  lose  your  right. 

"5th.  Learn  to  go  about  in  the  dark  and  to  find  things  in  the  dark. 
This  will  confirm  you  in  habits  of  order,  and  will  strengthen  memory, 
and  careful  thinking. 

"6th.  Learn  the  names  and  kinds  of  trees;  of  all  common  plants; 
of  our  common  birds  ;  of  animals. 

"  /th.  Learn  to  take  care  of  animals.  On  the  horse,  the  cow,  the 
sheep  much  of  man's  health,  and  prosperity,  and  convenience  depend. 
So,  learn  to  feed  and  care  for  these  beasts ;  to  harness  the  horse  or 
saddle  him  ;  to  milk  the  cow;  to  attend  to  the  sheep. 

"  8th.  Learn  to  mend  articles  of  common  use.  If  a  rung  comes 
out  of  your  chair,  or  the  back  loosens,  know  enough  to  mend  it 
well  and  neatly.  Learn  to  mend  broken  glass  and  china ;  to  repair 
the  furniture  of  the  rooms  ;  to  solder  up  a  hole  in  a  tin  vessel ;  to 
set  a  pane  of  glass  ;  to  grind  an  axe  or  a  knife ;  to  put  on  a  hinge  ; 
to  fasten  down  a  loose  spring.  If  you  do  not  learn  these  things 
you  will  waste  your  money  in  getting  new  articles  where  old  ones 
could  have  been  made  to  last,  and  you  will  live  amid  wrecks. 

"  Qth.  Learn  to  make  things  :  know  how  to  make  a  neat  wooden 
or  paper  box ;  to  carve  a  fair  paper-cutter ;  to  make  a  hanging  book- 
shelf, or  a  neat  cabinet,  or  a  picture-frame,  or  a  stand  ;  a  rustic  chair, 
a  footstool,  an  arbor,  a  toy.  Here  will  be  interesting  occupation  for 
spare  hours ;  safe  work  for  idle  hands.  By  these  little  ingenious 
occupations  of  otherwise  vacant  time  you  can  surround  yourself  with 
useful  and  pretty  things,  and  give  pleasure  to  your  friends. 

"  loth.  Learn  to  save  things.  The  natural  curiosities  that  come  in 
your  way  you  can  save  for  yourself  or  for  others.  The  wasps'  paper- 
nest;  the  humming  bird's  wonderful  home;  the  sea-side  curiosity; 
the  odd  engravings;  the  flowers  which  should  be  put  in  a  herbarium; 


400 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


the  specimens  of  woods,  of  stones,  of  curious  manufactures.  The 
collection  of  such  things  will  improve  your  taste  and  enlarge  your 
information  ;  you  will  often  be  able  to  give  needed  specimens  to 
students  or  institutions ;  you  will  be  more  esteemed  and  more 
estimable,  as  your  interests  are  wider,  and  your  knowledge  more 
minute." 


CHAPTER  NINETEENTH. 

ESPECIAL   PURSUITS   FOR  YOUNG   MEN. 

HUGE  wood-fire  glittered,  and  flashed,  and  roared 
up  the  wide  chimney,  and  rolled  great  banners  of 
light  into  the  shadowed  corners  of  the  room.     The 
Stranger  loved  to  sit  by  a  wood-fire :  he  found  it  the 
best  substitute  for  summer  sunshine. 
Around  the  Stranger  gathered  his  young  people,  as  so  many  times 
before. 

"  Our  turn  entirely  this  evening,"  said  Thomas.  "  Have  you  girls 
brought  your  knitting?  You  are  to  'hear,  see,  and  say  nothing,  if 
you  wish  to  live  in  peace,'  as  saith  the  Italian  proverb." 

"  No,  we  have  not  our  knitting,"  spoke  up  Laura  the  bold,  "  and 
we  intend  to  speak  every  once  in  a  while." 

"  Of  course,"  quoth  John  Frederick  :  "  Hercules  himself  never 
undertook  such  a  labor  as  to  keep  you  damsels  quiet  unless  you 
chose.  All  the  same  this  is  our  evening.  Sir,  shall  every  lawyer 
have  a  collegiate  education?" 

"No  doubt  the  literary  training  of  a  college  will  be  of  vast  use  to 
him ;  and  yet  many  of  our  foremost  lawyers  have  never  had  a  col- 
legiate course.     If  you  can  go  to  college,  and  then  through  a  law 
school,  and  then  into  a  lawyer's  office  your  path  is  pretty  plain." 
"And  how  long  will  it  take?"  asked  Peter. 

"It  requires  a  bright  lad  and  diligent  parents  to  get  a  boy  into 
college  by  sixteen :  under  which  age  few  colleges  receive  pupils. 
Then  four  years  in  college,  and  he  is  twenty ;  two  years  in  a  law 
school ;  three  in  a  lawyer's  office;  and  by  twenty-five  he  can  set  out 
for  himself,  and  at  a  very  good  age,  too." 

26  (401) 


402  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"And  it  will  need  a  deal  of  money  to  keep  him  until  then," 
remarked  Peter. 

"  Very  true,  even  if  he  is  economical,  for  books  are  dear,  and 
board  and  tuition,  though  had  at  the  cheapest,  run  up  to  a  large  sum 
in  nine  years,  and  the  student  must  be  decently  clothed.  Still,  he 
may  help  himself  some.  He  can  teach,  or  copy  papers,  or  get  some 
small  pay  in  the  office ;  but  these  exertions,  with  study,  make  very 
hard  work,  and  are  likely  to  break  down  health.  As  far  as  consti- 
tution goes  he  had  better  work  with  a  farmer  during  vacations." 

"  Suppose  he  does  not  go  to  qollege,  or  law  school  ? "  said 
Henry. 

"  Then,  when  his  academic  education  has  given  him  a  good 
knowledge  of  common  English,  and  to  this  he  has  added  Latin, 
through  six  books  of  Virgil — also  Rhetoric,  Algebra,  and  Geometry 
— he  must  try  and  get  into  the  office  of  a  leading  lawyer." 

"  What  will  he  do  there  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  He  will  read  law,  copy  documents,  attend  court,  get  an  inside 
view  of  practice,  and  have  the  lawyer's  instructions.  He  will  need  to 
read  hard,  and  outside  of  law,  get  as  fair  a  knowledge  as  he  may  of 
general  literature." 

"Will  he  get  paid  in  the  lawyer's  office?"  asked  Dora. 

"Not  he;  the  lawyer  will  feel  that  his  instructions  are  a  full 
equivalent  for  the  young  man's  help.  Probably  the  lawyer  will  need 
to  have  more  than  a  modicum  of  confidence  in  the  youth's  abilities, 
before  he  agrees  to  receive  him." 

"And  is  it  slow  work,  making  a  practice?  "  asked  Dora.  "  I  have 
a  right  to  inquire,  for  you  know  sometimes  women  are  lawyers. 
Perhaps  some  of  us  will  be." 

Henry  laughed  at  the  idea  of  the  dimpled,  plump,  pink-and-white 
Dora  pleading  a  case  in  court.  He  fancied  her  circle  of  reasoning 
would  be,  "  This  is  so — because,  it  is  so." 

"  It  is  slow  work,  Dora,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Unless  a  relationship 
with  leading  lawyers,  or  extraordinary  gifts,  or  some  happy  accident, 
should  push  one  suddenly  forward,  it  is  a  slow  climb  to  competence. 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOE    YOUNG  MEN.  403 

But  popular  and  successful  lawyers  make  from  seven  thousand  to 
thirty-five  thousand  dollars  in  a  year." 

"  Eloquence  is  one  of  those  great  gifts  for  a  lawyer,"  said  George. 
"  But  how  acquire  eloquence  ?  " 

"  It  must  be  a  natural  gift  to  begin  with.  It  is  the  flashing  forth 
of  interior  fires ;  but  like  all  gifts  it  is  capable  of  cultivation.  Perhaps 
Luther  gave  the  most  terse  rules  for  eloquence,  thus : 

"  '  Open  thy  mouth  widely; 
Shout  out  strongly: 
Shut  it  quickly.'  " 

"That  is  easily  learned.     Is  it  easily  practised?"  said  Peter. 

"  Remember,  that  behind  all  this  lies  the  something  to  say.  The 
wide-open  mouth  and  the  loud  voice  must  be  giving  vent  to  ideas. 
Having  these,  stop  when  they  are  expressed.  Never  go  on  talking 
after  you  are  done.  '  Sister  Fanny  talks  a  great  deal,  but  she  doesn't 
say  anything,'  calmly  observed  a  witty  Irish  lady,  in  my  hearing." 

"  Eloquence  is  one  of  the  gifts  of  the  pulpit,  also,"  said  Robert. 
"Will  you  tell  us  the  course  of  study  requisite  to  entering  the  min- 
istry? " 

"  Churches  differ.  Some  regard  only  the  spiritual  acquirements 
of  the  candidates,  and  their  zeal  and  readiness  of  speech.  This  is 
generally  in  churches  where  there  is  no  salary  for  the  ministers,  and 
they  pursue  also  some  other  calling.  Evidently  it  would  be  unfair, 
in  these  circumstances,  to  require  an  expensive  training.  Other 
churches  expect  the  candidate  for  the  ministry  to  pass  an  examina- 
tion, more  or  less  close,  on  Biblical  subjects,  and  ordinary  branches 
of  education.  Some  license  a  man  as  a  colporteur,  lay  preacher, 
evangelist,  and  as  he  increases  in  attainments,  they  make  of  him  a 
regularly  ordained  preacher.  Most  churches,  however,  demand  that 
those  who  choose  the  ministry  as  a  calling  must,  in  addition  to  spirit- 
ual gifts,  and  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures,  possess  knowledge 
of  Hebrew,  as  in  this  tongue  the  Old  Testament  was  written ;  of 
Greek,  because  in  this  is  the  original  of  the  New  Testament ;  of 


404  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

Latin,  because  many  very  valuable  works  of  the  early  fathers  and 
our  first  records  of  church  history  are  in  that  language'.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  candidate  must  be  acquainted  with  and  accept  the  stan- 
dards of  his  own  church  ;  he  must  have  knowledge  of  history,  church 
and  secular  ;  he  must  be  learned  in  archaeology,  ancient  and  Scriptural 
geography,  general  literature,  theology,  and  many  other  subjects, 
cognate  to  his  proposed  profession." 

"And  do  you  think  such  an  amount  of  education  is  needful  to  the 
ministry?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  No  doubt.  The  most  acute  minds  in  the  world  have  been  stirred 
up  to  attack  Christianity,  and  the  Scriptures.  The  heathen  have 
never  '  ceased  raging,'  as  says  the  second  Psalm,  and  some  of  them 
are  highly  astute  and  intellectual  heathen.  The  seeds  of  infidelity 
and  of  superstition  are  alike  widely  scattered  in  the  community, 
and  falsehood  comes  with  so  '  fair  an  outside  '  as  to  be  very  beguil- 
ing to  youth.  Now  the  minister  should  know  how  to  meet  error, 
not  only  in  the  form  of  coarse,  blunt,  absurd  negations,  but  also  in 
the  more  subtile  forms  of  half  truth,  or  scientific  attack.  To  do  this, 
he  should  know  his  Bible  well ;  not  only  as  it  is  before  him  in  Eng- 
lish, but  also  in  the  originals  ;  he  should  understand  all  its  illustra- 
tions and  allusions,  the  historic  and  scientific  supports  that  shall 
confute  attack.  One  does  not  often  meet  challenge  as  bold  and 
absurd  as  'this  which  I  once  heard.  '  The  Bible,  what's  the  Bible, 
but  a  collection  of  old  rubbishy  papers,  once  thrown  away  ?  The 
very  name  shows  that.  Don't  you  see  Bi-bil,  that  is  bills  laid  by, 
old,  no-account  bills.'  Here  was  ignorance,  so  especially  low  down, 
that  one  could  not  get  down  far  enough  to  meet  and  argue  with  it. 
What  use  to  tell  such  an  idiot  that  Bible  means  simply  the  book  ?  as 
said  Scott  on  his  death-bed,  '  Bring  me  the  Bible — there  is  no  book 
but  on£.'  'Study,'  says  Paul  to  Timothy,  '  to  show  thyself  approved 
unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed ;  rightly  di- 
viding the  word  of  truth.'  Theology,  or  the  study  of  God,  and  the 
study  of  the  affairs  of  the  soul,  and  of  eternity,  embrace  so  high  a 
range,  that  one  cannot  be  too  well  equipped  to  pursue  them.  The 


ESPECIAL   PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNG  MEN.  405 

minister  must  not  only  meet  attack  and  objection,  but  also  honest 
inquiry,  and  solve  genuine  doubts.  A  child  can  ask  questions  that 
it  would  take  an  angel  to  answer ;  and  there  are  high  mysteries  in 
faith  that  cannot  be  explained  here  on  earth.  But  things  that  are 
mysteries  to  the  unlearned,  and  insoluble  to  those  who  have  not 
studied  them  seriously,  may  be  laid  open  by  the  earnest  and  well- 
taught  pastor." 

"What  is  the  usual  course  of  study  required  by  the  most  of  our 
churches  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"  The  usual  collegiate  course.  Then  three  years  in  a  theological 
school.  Sometimes  the  collegiate  course  is  remitted,  when  the  can- 
didate passes  an  examination  in  its  equivalents.  At  other  times  ordi- 
nation is  granted  after  a  two-years'  course  at  the  theological  school. 
But  do  not  forget  what  I  said  to  you  about  leisure,  and  the  advantages 
of  thoroughness." 

"And  are  there  any  primary  rules  to  aid  us  in  the  choice  of  a 
profession,  or  in  pursuing  studies  for  it  ?  "  asked  George. 

"One  grand  rule  is,  choose  your  path,  and  keep  straight  on.  Don't 
stop  or  turn  aside,  even  for  golden  apples — 

" '  Pale  Science,  in  her  laboratory, 

Works  on  with  crucible  and  wire 
Unnoticed,  till  an  instant  glory 

Crowns  some  high  issue  as  with  fire. 
And  men,  with  wondering  eyes  awide, 
Gauge  great  Invention's  giant  stride. 

" '  No  age,  no  race,  no  single  soul 
By  lofty  tumbling  gains  the  goal: 
The  steady  pace  it  keeps  between, 
The  little  points  it  makes  unseen, — 
By  these,  achieved  in  gathering  night, 
It  moveth  on  and  out  of  sight, 
And  wins,  through  all  that's  overpast, 
The  City  of  its  hopes  at  last.' 

Another  rule  is,  consider  fitness  for  the  profession — fitness  physical 


406  .  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

as  well  as  mental.  Don't  lag  on  in  ill  health,  sure  of  breaking 
down  just  as  you  are  done.  By  some  fatality,  more  men  enter  the 
ministry  in  an  exhausted  physical  condition  than  enter  on  any  other 
profession.  And  the  ministry  demands  sound  health  for  its  severe 
duties.  A  vigorous,  evangelical  layman  is  generally  more  useful 
than  the  disabled  minister.  Once  you  are  in  the  ministry,  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  do  anything  else,  when  you  can  no  longer 
prosecute  the  duties  of  that  chosen  calling.  Don't  enter  it  half 
wrecked.  So,  also,  don't  rush  off  on  a  mission,  when  you  ought  to 
know  that  you  have  no  energy  nor  persistency  of  purpose.  The 
church  that  wasted  its  money  sending  you  out,  will  waste  more 
bringing  you  back.  Gauge  your  powers.  You  may  be  a  little 
David,  on  whom  admiring  friends  are  buckling  the  armor  of  Saul. 
Prove  it.  If  you  find  that  you  cannot  go  in  that  harness,  say  so. 
David  expounded  his  views  of  over-loading.  If  you  cannot  carry 
Saul's  helmet,  or  wield  Saul's  sword,  you  may  be  able  to  drop  some 
very  big  giant  with  your  own  little  sling. 

"  In  well  searching  yourself,  you  will  come  upon  your  own  spe- 
cialty. You  may  find  it  in  science — as  geology,  botany,  mathematics, 
electricity.  Get  a  good  nail,  set  it  straight,  and  hit  it  on  the  head 
every  blow.  Only  let  your  heart  be,  like  John  Chivery's,  '  in  the 
right  place,'  and  you  will  no  doubt  get  on  in  the  world.  It  takes 
courage  to  pursue  any  profession,  or  any  trade." 

"  I  wondered,  when  you  were  speaking  of  the  pursuit  of  literature, 
that  you  did  not  set  among  its  pains  and  penalties  the  critics,  and 
adverse  reviews." 

"  Partly  because  these  are  helps  to  authorship  as  well  as  thorns 
in  one's  way.  A  sharp  review  has  made  some  writers.  Byron  says: 
'A  man  should  calculate  his  powers  of  resistance  before  he  enters  the 
literary  arena.  A  savage  review  is  hemlock  to  a  suckling  author; 
and  the  one  on  me  knocked  me  down,  but  I  got  up  again.'  In  fact, 
he  got  up  to  such  lively  purpose,  that  he  demolished  his  assailants 
with  '  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers.'  Macaulay  is  said  to 
have  been  indifferent  to  adverse  criticism.  He  was  mildly  pleased, 


.     ,  ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNQ  MEN.  407 

but  never  elated,  by  approbation.  But,  to  begin  with,  he  made  up  his 
mind  as  to  the  real  value  of  his  work,  and  then  praise  never  intoxi- 
cated him,  nor  did  blame  dishearten  him." 

"  We  should  like  now,"  said  Peter,  "  to  have  you  tell  us  how  to 
enter  some  of  the  schools  and  public  offices  under  the  government ; 
and  first,  West  Point." 

"  In  proportion  to  the  number  of  boys  seeking  openings  into  active 
life,  few  indeed  get  into  West  Point.  So  few,  that  West  Point  seldom 
becomes  a  factor  in  family  consultations  and  considerations  of '  what 
we  shall  do  with  our  boys.'  And  yet,  West  Point  offers  a  fair  field 
for  those  who,  having  secured  an  entrance  there,  will  conduct  them- 
selves with  propriety.  A  spirited,  intelligent  lad,  who  has  an  apti- 
tude for  things,  and  quickness  in  learning,  here  enters  upon  a  life- 
work  which  secures  him  certainly  a  living  and  fair  social  status.  The 
pupil  of  the  government  obtains  a  society  position  beyond  dispute. 
Here  is  a  life-work  ready  for  him,  with  pension  in  illness  or  dis- 
ablement. When  the  soldiers  of  the  church  are  disabled  on  the 
field  of  battle,  they  get  a  meagre  appropriation,  sinfully  called 
'charity.'  The  government  pensions  its  invalided  officers,  and  calls 
it  fairly  their  right.  Entering  West  Point  saves  a  youth  the  expense 
of  a  college  education — that  long  preparatory  period  of  constant 
outlay,  which  is  such  a  stumbling-block  to  some  who  are  trying  to 
get  on  in  the  world." 

"  How  much  money  does  he  need  to  enter?"  asked  Peter. 

"  Enough,  strictly  speaking,  to  pay  his  fare  to  West  Point.  More 
no  doubt  is  an  advantage,  to  keep  him  in  a  little  pocket-money  until 
he  is  paid." 

"  Then  he  gets  a  salary  from  the  start  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  enough  to  support  him,  though  perhaps  not  all  he  would 
like  to  have.  But  when  boys  are  studying,  the  less  money,  the  less 
mischief,  generally.  When  he  is  graduated,  he  is  commissioned  as  a 
second  lieutenant,  and  until  promoted  he  has  second  lieutenant's 
pay.  He,  at  graduation,  receives  also  an  amount  necessary  to  buy 
him  his  outfit,  the  uniform  and  et  ceteras  desired." 


408  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"What  outfit  must  he  bring  with  him  to  West  Point?" 
"Seven  shirts;  six  pair  of  winter  socks;  six  pair  of  summer  socks; 
four  pair  of  summer  and  three  pair  of  winter  drawers ;  six  hand- 
kerchiefs ;  six  towels  ;  clothes-brush,  tooth-brush,  hair-brush,  comb, 
one  each;  four  sheets;  one  trunk.  If  he  is  really  unable  to  bring 
these,  they  are  provided  and  charged  against  his  salary.  If  he  is 
careless  in  losing  or  destroying  his  clothes,  his  salary  will  be  inade- 
quate ;  so,  if  he  wastes  his  pocket-money.  The  pay  is  only  sufficient 
when  the  most  scrupulous  economy  is  exercised.  But  so  much  the 
better.  Youth  should  learn  economy :  it  is  one  of  life's  best  lessons. 
Sparing  youth,  plentiful  age.  '  Blessed  is  the  man  who  hath  borne 
the  yoke  in  his  youth.' " 

"Are  there  distinctions  as  to  birth,  wealth,  or  position  ?" 
"  No.  The  idea  is  to  abolish  all  but  military  distinctions :  those 
of  rank.  The  same  clothing,  food,  room,  requirements,  attentions 
belong  to  the  millionaire's  son,  or  the  butcher's  son.  Among  them- 
selves boys  will  have  cliques  and  whims  for  which  their  teachers  are 
not  responsible.  Advancement  is  on  merit,  and  military  rank  is  the 
only  grading  recognized.  If  a  dandy  cadet,  with  more  money  than 
wit,  secretly  gets  from  a  city  tailor  a  finer  quality  of  uniform  than 
his  class-mates,  or  a  jauntier  cap,  an  amiable  inspecting  officer  mildly 
confiscates  the  prey.  The  boys  are  not  allowed  to  adorn  or  improve 
their  rooms  in  any  way :  accommodations  must  be  on  a  par.  If 
a  cadet  has  a  full  purse  he  cannot  spend  it  as  he  will ;  he  cannot  get 
gifts,  and  boxes,  and  treats,  or  go  to  stores  without  consent  of  his 
superintendent.  A  common  mess  and  two  cadets  to  each  plain 
little  room:  this  is  West  Point  law.  No  Sybarites  there." 
"What  is  required  to  success  in  West  Point?" 
"  Robust  physical  health  and  a  taste  for  mathematics  :  the  highest 
marks  being  given  for  mathematical  proficiency.  Without  mathe- 
matical ability,  self-control,  and  subordination,  a  cadet  will  not  stay 
long  at  West  Point.  If  parents  bring  up  a  son  to  impudence,  dis- 
obedience, lawlessness,  they  will  do  well  to  keep  him  away  from 
West  Point." 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR   YOUNG   MEN.  409 

"What  are  the  studies  pursued  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"Mathematics,  natural  and  experimental  philosophy,  civil  and 
military  engineering,  law,  drawing,  French,  chemistry,  army  drill  or 
discipline." 

"  What  vacations  do  they  give  ?  "  asked  Harriet. 

"At  Christmas  a  well-behaved  pupil  may  go  home  for  a  few  days  : 
New  Year's,  Thanksgiving,  Fourth  of  July,  and  Christmas  are 
holidays.  From  the  end  of  June  to  the  end  of  August  the  cadets 
live  in  camp.  After  they  have  been  in  the  academy  two  years  those 
who  have  less  than  two  hundred  demerits  can  go  home  for  these  two 
months.  As  they  have  demerits  over  two  hundred  they  lose  propor- 
tional days  for  the  extra  number  of  marks." 

"What  about  pay  after  graduation?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  It  is  small,  being  second  lieutenant's  pay,  and  promotion  is  slow 
unless  in  the  misfortunes  of  war.  The  young  officer  may  be  exiled 
to  a  frontier  post  and  stay  there  for  years  ;  but  he  has  had  a  good 
education,  holds  an  honorable  place,  and  is  able  to  live  decently." 

"  Is  the  discipline  at  West  Point  severe  ?  " 

"To  nervous,  spoiled,  or  peevish  people  it  will  seem  so.  Such 
faults  as  dishonesty,  intoxication,  duelling,  falsehood,  libel,  hazing 
are  followed  by  dismissal.  Other  offences  are  punished  by  demerit 
marks,  fines,  abridgment  of  recreation  hours,  or  by  locking  up." 

"What  are  the  physical  requirements  for  admission?"  asked 
Thomas. 

"  The  candidate  must  not  be  less  than  seventeen  nor  over  twenty- 
two  ;  not  less  than  five  feet  high,  free  of  disease,  deformity,  or 
infirmity,  and  unmarried." 

"In  what  are  they  examined?"  inquired  Harriet. 

"In  such  studies  as  an  average  boy  in  a  public  school  can  cover 
before  he  is  seventeen.  In  these  they  demand  thoroughness.  They 
are,  correct  English  reading  and  writing,  arithmetic  through  decimal 
fractions ;  the  elements  of  grammar,  geography,  United  States  his- 
tory. No  deficiencies  in  these  are  tolerated.'  On  June  ist  the 
applicant  goes  to  West  Point.  By  the  twentieth  he  is  told  the  result 


410  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

of  his  application  and  examination.  During  this  time  he  is  kept  free 
of  expense.  But  he  is  only  a  probationer  until  the  first  half-yearly 
examination  in  January.  If  he  has  failed  to  reach  a  West  Point 
standard  in  recitation,  he  is  then  sent  home.  Only  thirty-five  per  cent, 
pass  this  first  examination ;  only  fifty  per  cent,  finish  the  course." 

"And  can  any  fellow  that  chooses  go  to  West  Point  ?  and  if  he 
gets  through  with  his  examinations  enter  ?  " 

"  By  no  means,  else  our  army  would  soon  have  more  officers  than  pri- 
vates. Each  Congressional  District,  each  Territory,  also  the  District 
of  Columbia,  is  entitled  to  one  cadet.  The  Congressman  of  the  dis- 
trict nominates  his  cadet,  the  Secretary  of  War  confirms  the  nomina- 
tion made  by  the  representative.  The  Congressmen  sometimes 
nominate  their  man  through  personal  favor,  but  the  practice  is  now 
becoming  general  of  having  a  competitive  examination  of  the  lads 
that  wish  to  go,  and  taking  the  best  scholar  if  physically  fit.  The 
President  of  the  United  States  can  also  appoint  ten  cadets.  When 
the  appointee  of  a  Congressional  District  has  failed,  or  has  graduated, 
the  way  is  open  to  his  successor." 

"  Is  there  any  other  way  of  getting  a  commission  in  the  United 
States  army  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  Nearly  every  year  there  is  a  competitive  examination  for  can- 
didates from  civil  life  to  enter  as  second  lieutenants :  several  are  ap- 
pointed of  the  best  among  the  examined.  Information  can  be  obtained 
by  addressing  the  War  Office  early  in  the  year :  the  test  is  in  June." 

"Will  you  now  inform  us  about  the  Naval  Academy?  " 

"  The  number  received  and  the  method  of  nomination  are  the  same 
as  at  West  Point.  The  places  vacant  are  filled  by  July  ist  each 
year:  the  applicants  report  at  the  academy  at  Annapolis,  and  are  ex- 
amined as  at  West  Point.  None  under  fourteen  or  over  eighteen  ate 
accepted.  The  age  must  be  certified,  and  testimonials  of  good  moral 
character  must  be  furnished.  The  physical  examination  is  more 
severe  than  at  West  Point :  a  robust  constitution  is  demanded.  Ca- 
tarrh, any  cutaneous  diseases,  predisposition  to  inherited  complaints, 
as  consumption,  heart  disease,  nervous  excitement ;  impediments  of 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNG  MEN.  411 

speech,  malformations,  defects  of  sight  or  hearing,  are  fatal  to  the 
application.  The  examinations,  except  in  reading,  are  written;  the 
subjects  are  reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  geography,  English 
grammar.  No  one  is  allowed  examination  after  a  second  failure ; 
but  they  may  come  up  for  a  class  a  year  later.  The  candidates  who, 
in  their  first  papers,  make  some  errors,  will  have  a  second  and  final 
chance  on  these  points.  To  fail  in  one  subject  will  insure  rejection." 

"And  are  the  examinations  in  these  subjects  severe?" 

"  Very  thorough.  Properties  of  numbers,  tests  of  divisibility, 
ratio  and  proportion,  analysis  of  miscellaneous  problems,  mensura- 
tion, measurement  of  rectangular  surfaces  and  volumes,  are  among 
the  queries  proposed.  In  fact,  thoroughness  in  arithmetic  is  a  main 
point,  and  unusual  excellence  in  it  helps  a  boy  wonderfully;  if  he  has 
studied  algebra,  it  is  a  great  advantage.  In  geography,  the  outlines 
of  countries,  course  of  rivers,  the  position  and  direction  of  head- 
lands, political  and  natural  divisions,  all  cities  of  historic,  geographic, 
or  political  importance,  must  be  familiar  as  a,  b,  c.  In  grammar, 
besides  the  usual  easy  surface  knowledge,  minute  knowledge  of  such 
points  as  the  use  of  a  or  an,  the  difference  between  my  and  mine,  be- 
tween thou  and  you,  the  varied  uses  of  it,  comparison  of  adverbs  and 
adjectives,  parts  of  irregular  and  defective  verbs,  syntax,  parsing,  are 
required.  Twenty-four  words  are  given  to  be  spelled,  and  a  short 
original  letter  is  demanded." 

"Are  the  candidates  bound  to  any  observances  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  They  pledge  themselves  to  serve  in  the  navy  eight  years,  includ- 
ing their  time  in  the  Academy.  Their  pay  is  five  hundred  a  year, 
beginning  at  admission.  They  are  required  to  bring  more  in  cloth- 
ing than  at  West  Point.  The  whole  cost  of  outfit  is  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  dollars  and  eighty-six  cents.  Nearly  all  of  the  articles 
must  be  purchased  after  reaching  the  Academy,  so  as  to  conform  to 
regulation.  Eight  white  shirts,  four  undershirts,  two  night-shirts, 
and  eight  towels,  are  of  the  things  that  may  come  from  home. 
Twenty  dollars  also  must  be  deposited  with  the  Superintendent,  for 
extras.  The  whole  cash  deposit  required  is  one  hundred  and  eighty- 


412  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

four  dollars  and  eighty-six  cents — the  few  articles  allowed  from 
home,  worth  about  twenty-five  dollars,  being  deducted  from  this  sum. 
An  application  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C.,  will 
get  you  a  pamphlet  with  minute  information." 

"  Is  there  not  also  a  school  for  naval  engineers  ? "  asked  John 
Frederick. 

"Yes;  and  the  grade  of  scholarship  is  higher,  and  the  examina- 
tions are  much  more  difficult.  In  this  school  applications  can  be 
made  by  any  party,  by  addressing  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The 
name  is  then  registered;  the  examination  is  thrown  open  to  all  the 
registered  men,  and  those  who  take  the  best  grade  get  the  appoint- 
ments. Each  year  only  twenty-five  are  received,  and  often  there  are 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  up  for  examination.  No 
one  is  admitted  to  register  for  examination  who  has  not  certified  to  his 
exact  age  and  furnished  testimonials  of  sound  health  and  good 
moral  character.  The  candidates  present  themselves  at  the  Naval 
Academy  on  the  fifteenth  of  September." 

"  How  long  is  the  course?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  Four  years  at  the  academy,  and  two  at  sea.  Those  who  gradu- 
ate are  commissioned  as  assistant  engineers ;  the  pay  while  in  the 
academy  is  five  hundred  a  year.  The  same  physical  qualifications 
are  demanded  as  for  the  naval  school.  The  deposit  required  for  out- 
fit is  two  hundred  and  fourteen  dollars  eighty-six  cents — the  value 
of  underwear  brought  from  home  being  deducted.  One  month  after 
admission,  the  cadet-engineer  will  be  credited  with  the  sum  he  paid 
for  travelling  expenses.  If  he  voluntarily  resigns  within  a  year,  he 
must  refund  the  amount  thus  repaid  him." 

"What  are  the  subjects  of  examination?"  asked  Catherine. 

"Arithmetic,  algebra  through  equations  of  the  first  degree ;  plane 
geometry,  elementary  philosophy,  reading,  writing,  spelling,  gram- 
mar, composition,  geography,  free-hand  drawing,  and  elementary 
knowledge  of  the  steam-engine.  In  every  instance  those  will  be 
preferred  who  can  draw,  and  have  a  practical  knowledge  of  machin- 
ery. Where  two  stand  alike,  or  nearly  alike  in  all  other  things,  he 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNG  MEN.  413 

who  draws  neatly,  and  understands  the  parts  of  a  machine,  will  get 
the  place.  Remember  it  is  not  landscape  drawing,  nor  pretty-face 
drawing,  but  accurate  mechanical  drawing,  and  map  drawing,  that 
will  be  sought  after.  Candidates  must  not  be  less  than  sixteen,  nor 
over  twenty." 

"And  how  is  the  examination  conducted?"  asked  Peter. 

"  It  is  written,  and  held  during  several  days.  Arithmetic  comes 
first;  time,  three  hours.  Number  of  kinds  of  problems  from  six 
to  nine.  Algebra ;  time,  three  hours ;  problems,  six  or  seven. 
Geometry;  time,  two  hours  and  a  half;  problems,  five  or  six.  Natu- 
ral Philosophy,  three  hours ;  questions,  eight  or  ten.  English 
branches,  three  hours.  The  spelling  is  of  twenty-four  difficult  words, 
such  as  euphonious,  inveigle,  pusillanimous,  coercion,  etc.  In 
grammar,  such  queries  as  these  ;  give  the  possessive,  the  singular, 
the  plural,  of '  hoof,'  '  moss,'  '  folio,'  '  race,'  '  thief.'  The  uses  of  what, 
thai  ?  Correct  these  sentences,  as  '  Who  did  she  marry  ?'  'It  is  the 
duty  of  every  one  to  be  careful  of  their  reputation.'  '  Neither  of 
them  were  to  blame.'  Also  one  is  required  to  parse  a  hard  sen- 
tence." 

"  What  are  some  questions  in  Philosophy  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"If  a  two  horse-power  engine  can  just  throw  1,056  pounds  of 
water  to  the  top  of  a  steeple  in  two  minutes,  how  high  is  the 
steeple  ? 

"If  five  quarts  of  water  weigh  as  much  as  seven  of  alcohol,  what 
is  the  specific  weight  of  the  alcohol  ? 

"What  is  the  horse-power  of  an  engine  that  raises  1,500  pounds 
2,376  feet  in  three  minutes  ? 

"  In  Arithmetic,  such  as :  divide  723  by  .000241  ;  express  145.  6d. 
as  the  decimal  of  £2  35.  4^.  Separate  25289  into  prime  factors. 
These  are  the  easiest.  Each  problem  contains  several  questions  on 
the  same  subject.  In  Geometry :  If  A  B  be  the  side  of  a  square, 
and  A  D  the  side  of  the  triangle,  prove  that  3  AB2=2  AD2.  These 
are  easy  specimens.  Every  year  the  papers  differ." 

"  I  think,"  said  Peter,  "  there  are  school-ships  for  boys." 


414  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

"  Yes,  boys  are  enlisted  in  the  navy  on  these  terms  :  Boys  must  be 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  years  old ;  accompanied  by  permission  of 
parents  or  guardians.  They  enlist  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and 
must  be  of  fair  character,  never  convicted  of  any  crime.  They  must 
be  well  developed  and  robust.  The  applicant  must  be  able  to  read, 
write,  spell,  and  know  his  multiplication  table.  Travelling  expenses 
to  reach  the  ship  are  paid  by  the  candidate.  He  is  enlisted  as  third- 
class  boy  at  $9.50  a  month,  with  one  ration ;  if  deserving,  he  is  pro- 
moted to  second-class  at  $10.50,  or  first-class  at  $1 1.50  a  month,  and 
while  cruising  gets  higher  wages,  as  a  reward  of  good  conduct.  The 
parents  can  purchase  the  outfit ;  or,  it  is  furnished  and  taken  from  the 
wages.  Besides  the  pay,  if  they  behave  well,  they  can  draw  monthly 
one  dollar  of  pocket-money  if  out  of  debt.  The  commander  lets 
them  go  ashore,  as  he  sees  fit.  They  are  taught  common  English 
branches,  seamanship,  and  other  professional  occupations,  fitting 
them  for  skilled  sailors.  Those  injured  or  disabled  in  the  service 
get  pensions.  They  are  not  permitted  to  send  any  part  of  their  pay 
home,  as  they  are  supposed  to  need  it  all  to  keep  themselves  in  fair 
order.  Their  health  is  carefully  attended.  In  all  these  departments 
of  governmental  service  medical  attention  is  given  to  the  lad,  and  his 
food,  clothes,  exercise  and  lodging,  are  supposed  to  be  those  best 
calculated  to  maintain  vigorous  health." 

At  this  instant  Samuel  entered.  "  I  am  late,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
just  come  from  the  train.  I  have  been  to  Washington  to  enter  my 
brother  Dick  in  the  signal  service,  and  I  have  left  him  there." 

"  You  are  just  the  man  we  wish  to  see,  then,"  said  the  Stranger, 
"  because  you  can  tell  us  all  about  this  service." 

"  To  be  admitted  to  examination  one  must  have  a  certificate  of 
sound  character,  and  must  be  of  fair  size  and  health.  Under  eighteen, 
there  must  be  written  permission  for  enlistment  from  parent  or 
guardian.  The  enlistment  is  for  five  years,  and  must  be  preceded  by 
a  careful  physical,  and  also  by  a  literary,  examination." 

"  On  what  subjects  ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  Reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  grammar,  geography;  also 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNG  MEN.  415 

an  original  letter  or  composition.  The  examination  is  partly  written, 
and  partly  oral,  and  the  thoroughness  on  subjects  required  is  such, 
and  the  rapidity  of  the  questions  is  so  great,  that  it  makes  the  affair 
rather  hard.  Fifteen  were  examined  with  Dick  :  only  three  got  in  : 
two  of  those  with  exceptions." 

"And  do  tell  us  how  Dick  got  on?"  cried  Laura. 

"They  stood  him  up  and  just  fired  questions  at  him  for  four 
hours.  When  spelling,  writing,  and  the  letter  were  on,  the  examin- 
ing officer  rattled  off  the  words  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  Dick  caught 
them  up  in  breathless  haste.  After  reading,  spelling,  writing,  and 
grammar,  the  officer  laughed  and  said  to  Dick:  'You  had  better  go 
and  get  your  dinner,  my  lad.' " 

"  I'm  glad  of  that,"  said  Dora.  "  Dick  was  always  fond  of  his 
dinner;  what  did  he  get?" 

"  He  rushed  to  an  '  old  book  store,'  and  dined  luxuriously  on  a 
geography,  an  atlas,  and  an  arithmetic.  Then  he  went  back  at  the 
end  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  the  questions  began  again.  He 
tripped  on  the  rule  for  cube  root,  but  corrected  himself  before  the 
officer  could  shake  his  head.  By  the  end  of  the  geography,  he  was 
pretty  well  done  up,  and  said  Savannah  was  in  North  Carolina. 
But  he  looked  so  horrified,  that  the  officer  said,  Til  let  you  take 
that  back.'  '  It  is  in  Georgia,  on  the  Savannah  river,'  said  Dick,  and 
so  he  passed  perfect.  When  the  officer  found  that  Dick  understood 
surveying,  French,  map-drawing,  algebra  and  geometry,  he  said  he 
would  get  promoted  faster,  and.  find  it  easier  at  the  fort.  So  after 
the  physical  examination,  and  his  signing  his  enlistment,  and  father's 
letter  of  consent  going  in,  I  went  to  the  fort  with  him." 

"  Where  is  that  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"A  few  miles  from  Washington.  There  he  must  stay  for  six 
months,  studying  telegraphy,  flag  and  word  signals,  meteorology, 
military  drill ;  the  learning  of  several  thousand  catch  words,  each  of 
which  means  a  sentence,  and  various  other  matters  that  shall  make 
him  a  good  weather  prophet.  After  six  months,  he  will  go  to  the 
observatory  in  Washington  for  three  or  four  weeks'  practice.  Then 
he  will  be  sent  on  station." 


416  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  What  did  he  take  from  home  with  him  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"A  good  stock  of  underclothes,  brushes,  toilette  articles,  sheets, 
pillow-cases,  towels ;  some  books.  At  the  fort  he  is  provided  with 
uniform,  but  may  wear  his  civilian  dress  when  out  on  leave.  If  he 
had  not  had  the  needed  underclothes  and  brushes,  he  would  have 
been  given  them,  and  the  amount  charged  on  his  pay.  He  took  a 
looking-glass,  basin,  and  shaving-mug,  but  these  and  the  sheets  and 
pillow,  and  pillow-cases,  are  optional." 

"  How  does  he  live  at  the  fort?" 

"  They  sleep  in  barracks,  or  long  rooms,  in  separate  beds.  A  new 
tick  is  given  to  each  one  to  fill  with  new  straw.  He  makes  up  his 
bed  with  what  he  brought,  a  pair  of  blankets  being  added  by  the 
commissary.  He  puts  his  trunk  by  his  bed ;  hangs  his  glass  and 
basin  over  it,  and  makes  his  allotted  space  as  tidy  as  he  can.  Each 
boy  pays  a  certain  tax  monthly,  which  goes  to  hire  cooks  and  scrub- 
bers. The  boys  mess  together,  but  the  fare  is  very  plain  though 
wholesome.  They  are  allowed  to  buy  milk  and  other  extras  if  they 
choose.  By  their  enlistment  they  are  exempt  from  the  ordinary 
duties  of  soldiers,  as  fighting  and  service ;  though  they  learn  the 
drill  and  to  use  a  musket.  Their  pay  at  the  fort  is  thirteen  dol- 
lars a  month,  with  board,  clothes,  tuition  and  medical  aid.  When 
they  get  on  station  they  have  fifty-eight  dollars  per  month,  with 
increase  at  stations  where  expenses  of  living  are  extraordinary.  For 
efficiency  and  progress  they  are  promoted,  with  proportional  in- 
crease of  pay,  until  they  can  become  lieutenants.  When  the  period 
of  enlistment  expires  they  receive  several  hundred  dollars  of  reserved 
pay;  and  if  they  re-enlist  they  are  at  once  replaced  in  the  rank 
to  which  they  have  risen.  On  station  they  wear  no  uniforms,  and 
only  work  a  certain  number  of  hours  daily.  Their  travelling  ex- 
penses and  medical  attendance  are  all  paid.  The  salary  is  just  suffi- 
cient to  maintain  them  as  their  education  and  station  demand.  They 
need  to  exercise  care  of  their  funds,  lest  they  come  short  for  food 
bills  and  extras  while  on  unexpected  journeys.  In  this  service 
young  men  are  sure  of  a  support,  are  occupied  with  matters  of  in- 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR   YOUNG  MEN.  417 

terest,  and  have  an  opportunity  of  travelling  and  seeing  the  country, 
and  learning  of  men  and  affairs,  while  they  prosecute  their  proper 
business.  The  service  is  very  severe  on  all  getting  into  debt,  also 
on  drunkenness,  indolence,  insubordination,  and  gambling.  Those 
who  indulge  in  these  things  get  dismissed." 

"  Is  the  pilot  service  under  government  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  No.  Each  large  port  has  its  pilots,  who  are  bound  by  certain 
laws  as  to  their  prices,  graded  by  the  size  of  the  vessel,  and  there  are 
other  regulations  governing  the  business.  The  pilots  own  their 
boats,  small,  swift  steam-vessels,  and  receive  on  each  boat  a  number 
of  apprentices,  who  serve  for  five  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
they  are  licensed  pilots.  As  the  boats  cruise  about  looking  for  ves- 
sels, the  boys  who  live  in  the  shore  villages  now  and  then  get  a 
chance  to  run  home  to  see  their  friends,  and  take  their  clothes  for 
washing  and  mending.  It  is  very  rarely  that  they  get  a  Sunday,  and 
two  weeks  in  the  year  afford  their  only  vacation.  Their  fare  is  plain, 
and  they  are  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  severe  weather.  The  loss  of 
Sabbath  privilege  is  a  very  serious  drawback  to  this  service.  The 
apprentices  get  their  clothes  and  food.  A  pilot  can  make  from  fif- 
teen hundred  to  two  thousand  a  year,  and  many  desire  the  position 
but,  as  the  number  of  pilots  is  limited,  the  sons  or  nephews  of  those 
on  the  boats,  or  the  orphan  boys  of  pilots,  fill  up  the  number  of 
apprentices  allowed,  and  few  others  can  get  in.  The  rules  of  river 
pilotage  are  much  the  same." 

"There  is  the  life-saving  service  too.     What  is  that? " 

"Along  our  seaboard  and  on  the  shores  of  the  great  lakes  the  gov- 
ernment has  established  saving  stations,  for  the  aid  of  vessels  in  dis- 
tress, and  the  rescue  of  seamen.  The  '  crew  '  at  these  stations  serve 
from  the  first  of  September  to  the  first  of  May.  They  have  a  captain 
who  is  salaried  by  the  year,  and  during  the  summer  remains  alone  at 
the  station,  calling  in,  if  he  needs  help,  aid  from  those  of  the  '  crew ' 
living  near.  The  men  get  house-room  in  the  station,  light,  fuel,  and 
forty  dollars  a  month.  They  usually  catch  a  good-  many  fish  for 
their  own  table,  as  they  board  themselves.  The  duty  is  arduous,  as 
27 


418  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

night  and  day  relays  of  the  men  pace  the  beach  for  a  beat  of  many 
miles ;  and  this,  in  fierce  storms,  and  the  coldest  weather,  is  hard 
work.  They  are  also  exposed  to  great  danger  and  suffering  in  res- 
cuing disabled  vessels.  For  this  service  a  man  must  be  very  robust, 
used  to  the  water,  a  good  sailor,  swimmer,  and  boatman,  and  sober. 
This  service  represents  a  great  change  from  the  days  when  the 
coast  was  lined  with  wreckers,  and  struggling  cast-aways  were  mur- 
dered, and  lost  vessels  were  an  eagerly  desired  prey  upon  the  sea- 
board." 

"  The  ship-building  yards  represent  a  great  industry  and  engage 
hundreds  of  men,  I  think?"  said  Laura. 

"  It  is  a  long  business  to  learn.,  A  young  man  spends  about  six 
years  in  his  apprenticeship.  His  first  year  he  gets  some  three  dollars 
a  week.  This  will  cover  his  board  and  washing  in  a  plain  way, 
and  his  parents  must  provide  his  other  expenses ;  or  if  he  lives  at 
home,  board  free,  he  may  clothe  himself.  He  should  study  drawing 
if  he  has  a  taste  that  way,  and  may  get  up  to  the  designing  room, 
where  he  can  have  a  pleasant  and  well-paid  business.  As  he  goes 
on  from  year  to  year  in  the  yard,  he  gets  higher  wages.  It  is  much 
the  same  in  a  carriage-building  establishment,  or  a  great  machine 
shop.  The  first  year  or  two  the  wages  barely  pay  for  board  in  a  re- 
spectable place,  and  if  a  young  man  wants  to  put  on  a  white  shirt,  a 
decent  pair  of  boots,  and  a  fair  suit  of  clothes  on  Sunday,  he  must 
have  some  means  beyond  his  wages  of  getting  these  things.  A 
great  and  growing  complaint  is,  that  apprentices  are  kept  out  of 
opportunities  to  enter  these  establishments,  or  when  once  in,  they 
are  kept  on  piece-work,  ill-taught,  and  not  allowed  to  get  a  good 
understanding  of  the  business.  This  insures  '  shoddy,'  '  sham,'  and 
'slight,'  in  work;  we  hear  of  constant  accidents,  buildings  falling, 
boilers  bursting,  rods  breaking,  all  manner  of  results  from  poor  work. 
Besides  this  young  men  fail  to  get  any  employment,  or  are  discour- 
aged in  their  work ;  they  feel  as  if  honest  industry  does  not  pay,  or 
shuts  her  doors  to  their  knock.  It  will  be  necessary  for  States,  or 
for  great  citie*s,  to  open  and  endow  large  industrial  schools,  where 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR    YOUNG  MEN.       .  419 

lads  who  are  growing  up  to  be  'hoodlums/  'tramps,'  'pick-pockets/ 
'  bummers,'  can  be  safely  and  thoroughly  taught  a  handicraft.  As 
skilled  craftsmen,  they  will  always  feel  strong  and  independent. 
Private  enterprise  cannot  open  or  maintain  these  schools  for  great 
crafts.  The  authority,  the  money,  even  the  military  reserve  power, 
of  a  State  or  city  will  be  needed  to  secure  them  a  footing,  and  make 
them  effective." 

"Are  there  not  a  great  many  clerks,  secretaries,  and  pages  in 
Washington  attached  to  the  Departments,  Congress,  and  individual 
service?"  asked  Henry. 

"  These  places  are  usually  picked  up  by  residents  in  or  near 
Washington,  or  by  friends  and  relatives  of  the  Senators  who  take 
their  dependents  and  clients  to  Washington  to  fill  these  positions. 
So  with  the  clerkships  in  the  Mint:  both  clerkships  for  men  and 
women — places  worth  sixty  or  eighty  dollars  a  month — one  must 
have  the  influence  of  some  leading  politician,  either  to  secure  a  place 
that  is  vacant,  or  get  a  place  made  vacant !  " 

"  There  seems  to  be  so  much  wire-pulling  in  it  all,"  said  Harriet. 

"  No  doubt.  I  have  frequently  explained  to  you  that  we  are  not 
living  in  the  millennium,  nor  yet  even  under  a  full  reign  of  common- 
sense.  Wire-pulling  is  the  curse  of  republics,  as  patronage  is  the 
curse  of  monarchies.  There  is  no  question  but  that  our  American 
people  would  be  more  calm,  more  settled  in  their  minds,  less  given 
to  wild  speculations,  if  our  country  did  not  go  through  a  political 
convulsion  once  in  four  years.  If  the  tenure  of  such  offices  as  con- 
sulates, clerkships,  postmasterships,  all  the  revenue  and  post  services, 
with  many  others,  was  for  life,  or  during  good  behavior,  no  doubt 
offices  would  be  more  honestly  administered :  there  would  be  less 
bribery,  corruption,  extortion.  What !  if  a  man  gains  nothing  by 
being  honest  and  generous ;  if  he  loses  nothing  by  being  grasping 
and  pettifogging,  is  he  likely  to  set  up  for  a  business-saint  ?  He 
knows  that  in  four  years  his  pedestal  is  to  be  knocked  away  from 
under  him;  no  more  lamps  will  burn  before  his  niche;  he  is* not 
living  in  the  millennium ;  and  if  his  mother  has  not  stayed  him  with 


420  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

scrupulous  moral  principles  (such  as  would  very  likely  keep  him  from 
getting  into  office)  let  him  flourish  while  he  can  as  patron  saint  of 
thieves !  The  moral  nature  of  man  is  such  that  he  is  open  to  two 
grand  influences  :  the  hope  of  reward,  the  fear  of  punishment.  Why 
this  is  so  it  is  needless  to  discuss.  It  is  an  evident  fact :  there  is  no 
reason  in  denying  it,  so  long  as  God  recognizes  it  on  nearly  every 
page  of  the  Bible,  and  every  parent  daily  recognizes  it  in  dealing 
with  his  children.  When  the  fair,  faithful  servant  of  government  is 
sure  of  being  turned  out  of  his  place  without  a  particle  of  reason 
except  that  there  has  been  a  quadrennial  election,  even  if  that  elec- 
tion has  not  put  a  new  party  in  power;  when  the  unblushing  swindler 
knows  that  he  will  not  lose  his  place  until  he  has  had  four  years  to 
plunder  a  fortune  for  himself,  what  ground  have  we  to  look  for  probity 
in  office,  except  the  ground  of  moral  miracles,  and  the  supernatural 
power  of  some  good  woman's  teaching  of  her  child,  some  plain 
man's  godly  example  to  his  son  ?  Only  for  these  unrecognized 
factors  in  political  life  we  had  been  wrecked  long  ago." 

"And  now,  sir,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  you  have  told  us  how  long  it 
takes,  what  hard  labor  it  requires  to  learn  any  profession,  or  trade,  or 
business,  will  you  tell  us  how  long  we  may  hope  to  exercise  our- 
selves in  these  ?  When  from  four  to  twelve  years  are  demanded  to 
prepare  for  life-work,  how  long  are  we  likely  to  prosecute  that  work  ? 
Leaving  the  chances  of  death  aside,  does  brain  wear  out  ?  If  we 
live,  how  long  of  life  can  we  labor  ?  " 

"A  clean,  honest,  hardy,  temperate  youth,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  is 
a  fair  promise  of  the  threescore  and  ten,  or  fourscore  years  of  life ; 
and  in  all  this  time  brain,  the  nobler  part  of  man,  should  go  on  from 
good  to  better.  The  promise  of  vigorous,  continuous  brain-power  is 
best  in  those  who  develop  slowly.  An  oak  grows  very  slowly ;  but, 
as  says  Carlyle,  '  a  cabbage  is  the  quickest  and  completest  of  all 
vegetables.'  Scott  was  thirty-four  when  he  wrote  '  Waverley : '  his 
best  work  was  done  between  forty-six  and  fifty-seven.  Carlyle  was 
forty-two  when  he  published  his  first  great  work,  '  The  French  Rev- 
olution:1 he  was  sixty-nine  when  he  put  forth  the  last  volume  of 


ESPECIAL  PURSUITS  FOR   YOUNG  MEN.  421 

his  'Frederick!  Swift  was  fifty-seven  before  he  began  'Gulliver's 
Travels;  '  Tennyson  writes  his  best  as  he  advances  in  his  sixties  :  so 
do  Longfellow  and  Whittier. '  Bryant  flourished  in  perennial  brain- 
power; Macaulay  went  on  from  better  to  best,  and  his  fine  early 
essays  are  pale  indeed  compared  with  the  splendor  of  his  later 
writings.  Washington  Irving  never  flagged  in  his  work :  his  'Life 
of  Washington '  was  written  after  he  was  sixty-seven.  Grote,  Defoe, 
>Prescott,  Hallam,  all  were  of  those  who  brought  forth  best  fruit  in 
age.  La  Place,  one  of  the  greatest  of  mathematicians,  did  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  work  after  he  was  seventy;  Victor  Hugo  after 
seventy ;  Amberet's  best  work  was  done  after  fifty ;  Cervantes  fin- 
ished 'Don  Quixote '  at  sixty-eight ;  Cicero's  best  work  came  between 
fifty-eight  and  sixty-two ;  Galileo  discovered,  at  seventy-four,  the 
diurnal  motion  of  the  moon ;  Goethe,  stoutly  holding  that  brain 
improved  with  age,  wrote,  at  eighty-two,  his  'Helene.'  The  same 
statements  of  vigor  in  age  might  be  made  about  discoverers,  scien- 
tists, inventors,  statesmen,  soldiers,  craftsmen." 


CHAPTER  TWENTIETH. 

'OF   NOTES,    LETTERS,    BUSINESS    FORMS,   ETC." 
r 

I 

E  want  to-night,"  said  Laura,  "  a  little  practical  in- 
formation, that  shall  suit  us  all.     Something  about 
letters,  notes,  business    forms.      We    do  not   get 
these  things  by  instinct,  and  few  schools  but  the 
Normals  give  instruction  in  them." 
"  It  has  been  said,"  remarked  John  Frederick,  "  that  the  character 
of  a  person  can  be  told  from  their  penmanship,  and  their  way  of  getting 
up  a  note,  letter,  or  business  document.     Certainly  the  amount  of 
their  education  and  literary  practice  can  be  detected  in  this  way." 

"  I  think  that  about  deciphering  character  in  these  productions 
is  true,"  said  Henry.  "  My  mother  has  a  cousin,  who  is  always 
making  mistakes  in  life;  she  never  fails  to  begin  her  letter  on  the 
fourth  page ;  it  must  be  '  read  backwards  like  a  Hebrew  book.'  If 
she  adds  an  extra  half  sheet,  she  does  not  number  it,  and  thus  you 
cannot  tell  on  which  side  to  commence  to  read." 

"  Let  us  begin,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  by  some  plain,  simple  rules, 
which  will  assure  to  your  correspondence  an  amount  of  neatness  and 
propriety,  that  will  at  least  save  it  from  absurdity.  After  that,  I  will 
give  you  a  few  general  forms,  and  leave  it  to  your  tact  and  discretion 
to  do  the  rest." 

"  First,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  how  shall  one  get  at  least  a  fairly 
good  penmanship?  Some  of  us  seem  to  inherit,  or  otherwise  come 
by,  a  bad  script.  We  cannot  all  go  to  commercial  college,  or  even 
to  a  good  writing-master." 

"It  is  not  needful.     Care,  slow,  steady  practice  will  ensure  you  a 
(422) 


OF  NOTES,  LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  423 

clear,  creditable  chirography.  You  should  practise  every  day.  Get 
a  few  good  plain  copies ;  not  fancy  hand,  but  clear  manuscript  hand, 
and  follow  them.  Also  remember  these  rules :  Above  the  line  the  If 
and  the  /,  and  the  h,  must  have  equal  height.  Below  the  line  the  g, 
the/,  thej,  the  g,  must  reach  equally  down.  The  d  and  /are  to 
be  of  the  same  height,  while  the  /  above,  matches  the  b,  and  below, 
the  g.  The  capitals  reach  the  same  height  above,  as  h  or  /,  the  other 
letters,  as  e,  a,  r,  s,  the  open  round  parts  of  the  d,  g,  q,  with  the  loops 
of  /, y,  b,  and  so  on,  are  to  be  all  of  even  size.  A  Greek  *  is  the  best 
e.  Take  care  and  do  not  make  the  v  and  r  alike,  or  loop  a  or  o,  so 
they  look  like  e ;  also  take  heed  that  the  u  and  the  n,  the  m  and  the 
w  are  not  run  off  like  the  same  letters  ;  curve  the  s  carefully,  cross 
the  x  and  finish  the  z  sharply.  Dot  your  Vs,  cross  fs.  '  If  you  will 
heed  these  plain  rules  you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  clear  and 
even  a  page  of  your  work  will  be.  You  can  never  write  well  with  a 
poor  pen,  slazy,  rough  paper,  or  pale,  gritty  ink.  Always  cork  your 
ink-bottle  and  wipe  your  pen,  and  put  by  your  paper,  out  of  the  dust, 
when  you  are  done  with  these  articles." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  fancy  papers  and  ink  ?  "  asked  George  ; 
"  are  they  in  good  taste  ?  " 

"  No  ;  black  ink,  a  good,  thick,  cream-laid  paper,  and  an  envelope 
to  match,  with  no  ornament  unless  a  very  modest  monogram,  will 
always  be  in  good  taste  ;  but  paper  with  colored  edges,  fancy  stamps, 
or  blue,  pink,  purple,  brown,  or  other  high-colored  papers,  always 
look  vulgar.  Never  use  blue,  bronze,  red,  or  violet  ink.  These,  too, 
have  a  '  loud/  '  flashy  '  look,  and  are  beside,  trying  to  the  eyes.  Do 
not  write  on  thin,  tissue,  writing-paper,  and  never  write  criss-cross; 
crossed  writing  is  an  abomination." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  '  fashions '  in  writing?  "  asked  Laura. 

"  I  think  if  you  have  a  good  clear  hand  of  your  own,  you  do  well 
to  keep  it  and  need  not  follow  new  fashions.  People  affect  queer 
script,  as  they  do  queer  hats  and  ties,  but  the  affectation  is  more  dan- 
gerous, as  it  destroys  a  really  good  possession.  When  you  write  an 
even  and  handsome,  round,  or  business  hand,  why  should  you 


424  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

change  for  a  great  square  hand,  where  your  letters  look  like  struc- 
tures of  children's  toy  bricks  ?  Or,  why,  as  the  fashion  gets  a  new 
freak,  should  you  take  a  sharp-pointed  hand,  which  looks  like  a  new- 
fangled way  of  sticking  pins  or  needles?  Or,  why  seek  after  a 
sloping  compressed  hand,  until  your  letters  look  like  a  tract  of  sea- 
grass,  trampled  under  a  fierce  wind?" 

'  "  Certainly,  if  we  write  poorly  we  greatly  vex  any  one  who  must 
read  our  documents,"  said  Henry. 

"  I  knew  a  man  once  who  wrote  so  execrably  that  only  one  per- 
son in  the  world  could  read  his  letters.  That  person  was  his  eldest 
daughter.  He  could  not  read  his  own  writing,  after  it  was  two  days 
old.  The  meekest  creatures  can  finally  be  roused  to  resentment, 
and  even  the  long  suffering  editors  of  the  religious  press  sometimes 
arrive  at  the  end  of  their  patience.  Here  is  the  way  in  which  one 
of  them  turns  upon  his  foes:  '  Made  a  mistake  in  your  article,  did 
they?  The  wonder  was  that  they  could  read  it  at  all.  Perhaps,  if 
you  try,  you  can  make  it  absolutely  illegible  next  time.  Get  a  stub 
pen,  write  in  a  very  fine  hand,  use  pale  ink,  and  thin  paper,  write  on 
both  sides  of  the  page,  up,  down,  and  across,  fill  it  full  of  carets, 
sprinkle  it  all  over  with  obscure  proper  names,  write  the  first  two 
letters  in  each  word  and  wriggle  out  the  rest.'  That  I  call  a  very 
thorough  prescription." 

41  But  after  a  note  or  letter  is  written,  there  is  a  deal  in  folding 
and  sealing  it,"  said  Catherine. 

"  Exactly ;  you  can  recklessly  fold  it  too  large  or  too  small,  and 
refold  it,  until  it  is  all  wrinkles ;  then  you  can  direct  it  upside  down, 
put  the  stamp  on  the  left-hand  corner,  and  so  infuriate  the  post- 
office  clerks;  then  drop  a  nice  blot  on  it,  and  wipe  it  off;  wet  the 
sealing-gum  too  wet,  and  rub  down  the  edge  with  a  soiled  or  inky 
finger,  and  you  will  have  a  very  handsome  letter  or  note.  Even  a 
part  of  these  precautions  will  give  it  a  sufficiently  notorious  ap- 
pearance. On  the  other  hand  if  you  will  fold  the  letter  of  the  proper 
size  for  the  envelope,  direct  it  clearly  right  side  up,  and  neither  too 
high  up,  nor  too  low  down ;  put  your  stamp  in  the  upper  right-hand 


OF  NOTES,  LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  425 

corner,  and  seal  with  care,  distributing  no  superfluous  ink,  the  letter 
will  have  nothing  distinctive  about  it,  but  its  decency — it  will  look 
as  if  it  came  from  a  fairly  well-educated  person.  Besides  the  clear 
script,  the  letter  should  be  well  spelled  and  properly  punctuated. 
Any  little  work  on  '  How  to  Write/  or  '  First  Principles  of  Rhetoric,' 
or  '  Elements  of  English  Composition,'  will  teach  you  how  to  spell, 
compose,  and  punctuate.  Never  use  slang  in  a  letter.  Don't  fling 
your  correspondence  about  promiscuously,  to  people  who  do  not 
care  for  it." 

"When  one  reads  a  proper  letter,  invitation,  introduction,  busi- 
ness form,  or  notice,  it  looks  so  easy,  and  just  what  should  be, 
that  one  wonders  why  it  is  that  people  never  can  make  it  right 
unless  they  have  first  learned  how.  One  never  hits  the  right  by 
accident  even  in  these  simple  things." 

"  It  is  like  shooting  at  a  mark  ;  one  will  never  hit  the  bull's-eye 
unless  he  has.  been  trained.  Now,  here  is  a  notice  that  I  picked  up 
once  on  the  road.  See  how  easy  it  is  to  be  wrong : 

" '  NOTICE. 

'"as  I  cant  Rent  the  Store  that  I  now  occupy  &  Compeld  to 
leave  I  shal  sell  at  publick  Oxtion  on  Thursday  the  8  of  Januory  all 
My  Stock  of  good  on  hand  and  all  perssons  indebitd  to  Me.  by  Store 
account  ar  requestid  to  pay  thare  bills,  at  onst  as  I  have  got  mine 
to  pay.  Sale  at  1 1  Oclock. 

"'JiM  BUNTIN.' 

"  Now  you  see,  aside  from  the  lawless  spelling,  and  the  reckless 
use  of  capitals,  Jim  was  going  quite  outside  of  the  necessities  of  his 
case,  in  stating  why  he  sold  out,  or  why  he  collected  his  debts.  That 
information  did  not  belong  in  his  sale  notice.  He  felt  it  his  duty 
to  put  a  period  somewhere  in  his  effusion,  but  putting  it  in  regard- 
less of  consequences,  he  offers  to  sell  all  who  are  indebted  to  him,  a 
cheerful  promise  likely  to  keep  his  debtors  at  a  reasonable  distance. 
I  observe,  also,  that  if  he  has  any  favorable  moral  qualities,  or  any 


426  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

providential  blessings,  he  means  to  sell  them  also,  as  he  offers  all  his 
stock  of  good" 

"  One  would  hardly  think  that  so  much  absurdity  could  be  crowded 
into  so  small  a  space,"  said  Samuel. 

"  Here  is  another  specimen — a  genuine  document.  It  is  curious 
to  observe  in  this  how  the  bad  spelling  is  in  the  smallest,  simplest 
words.  The  script  is  remarkably  neat  and  clear,  the  only  fault  being 
that  w  is  carefully  written  for  u  in  some  words.  The  ink  is  red. 

11 '  Compliments,  of.  L.  D.  DOLBOY. 

"'To.  Miss.  SWDIE.  V.  CWR. 

.Mr.  Simpson.  Porter,  is.  going,  to.  holde.  forth,  to.  night,  at.  own 
appointed.   Place,  of.  Worship,  and.  If.  yowr.  going,  i.  showd.  Bee. 
verrey.  happy,  to.  Bee.  yowr.  Escort.  If.  yow.  are.  not.  nigaged. 
" '  .Yowrs.  verrey. 

" '  Respectifwly. 
.L.  D.  DOLBOY. 

" '  .Pleas;  answer.  Directly, 
.and.  oblig.' 

"  The  faults  of  this  invitation  are  elaborate,  and  I  do  not  believe 
its  equal  in  punctuation  exists.  A  period  is  very  carefully  marked 
before  and  after  each  word.  But  the  writer  had  good  natural  abili- 
ties, and  had  made  a  fair  use  of  his  small  opportunities.  He  lived 
on  one  of  our  coast  islands,  where  public  schools  are  not  yet  inau- 
gurated. 

"  Now  what  do  you  think  of  this,  well  penned,  and  well  spelled, 
but  intended  as  a  business  document  ? 

" '  I  owe  Mr.  Luke  Murray  ten  dollars,  which  I  got  of  Mr.  Hand 
for  work  I  did  for  Mr.  Smith. 

"'ToM  CROSS.'" 

"  I  don't  see  what  it  means,"  said  Catherine. 
"  Tom  knew,  and  perhaps  Mr.  Murray  knew.     Here  is  another: 

'"Three  days  after  date  (Aug.  16)  I  will  owe   Mr.  Peters,  twenty 


OF  NOTES,   LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,   ETC.  427 

dollars  which  he  lent  my  brother-in-law  Jany  5.  if  it  is  not  paid 
bciore.  Jany  7. 

" '  NICHOLAS  CROSBY.'  " 

"  No  one  could  unravel  that"  said  Violet. 

"  Mr.  Peters  laughed  at  it,  and  thought  the  paper  worth  the  debt. 
It  meant  that  on  January  /th  Nicholas  became  security  for  twenty 
dollars,  which  his  wife's  brother  had  borrowed  two  days  before,  that 
is,  January  5th ;  and  this  twenty  dollars  Nicholas  would  pay  on  the 
1 9th  of  August,  unless  his  brother-in-law  paid  it  before  that  time." 

"  Will  you  give  us  a  form  for  an  invitation  ?"  said  Henry. 

"  For  a  formal  invitation  to  a  party,  one  writes  thus : 

"  '  Mrs.  Hunter  presents  her  compliments  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long, 
and  requests  the  pleasure  of  their  company,  on  Thursday  evening  at 
eight  o'clock. 

"'(Place.         Date}.' 

"A  less  formal  invitation  between  nearer  friends,  or  for  a  smaller 
party,  is : 

"'DEAR  Miss  GRAY:  May  I  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  at  my 
house  to-morrow  evening  at  seven  o'clock  ?  I  have  invited  a  few 
friends  whom  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  meet. 

" '  Yours, 

" '  LAURA  KNIGHT.' 

"  To  the  formal  invitation,  one  replies  thus : 

" '  Mr.  and   Mrs.  Long  accept  with  pleasure   Mrs.  Hunter's  kind 
invitation  for  Thursday  evening. 
"'(Place.         Date)! 

"  Or  decline  thus  : 

" '  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  present  their  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Hunter, 
and  regret  that  they  will  be  unable  to  accept  her  invitation  for 
Thursday  evening.' 


428  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  To  the  familiar  invitation,  such  an  answer  as  this : 

"'Miss   LAURA  KNIGHT: 

"'DEAR  FRIEND:  I  accept  with  pleasure  your  invitation  for  to- 
morrow evening.  It  is  always  a  gratification  to  visit  at  your  house, 

and  to  meet  your  friends. 

" '  Very  truly  yours, 

" '  ELLEN  GRAY.' 

"A  gentleman  thus  invites  a  lady  to  accompany  him  to  a  concert 
or  party : 

"'Mr.  Hubers  presents  his  compliments  to  Miss  Race,  and 
requests  the  honor  of  escorting  her  to  Miss  Wren's  party  (or 
Madame  Patti's  concert),  Wednesday  evening.' 

"  Or,  more  familiarly : 

"  '  DEAR  Miss  WILLIS  : 

"  'Are  you  already  engaged  for  Mrs.  Hosford's  party  (or  for  Mr. 
S.'s  lecture,  or  concert]  ?  If  not,  may  I  have  the  pleasure  of  calling 
for  you  Tuesday  evening  at  eight? 

" '  RUPERT  NORTH.' 

"  I  will  here  say  that  I  like  to  see  young  ladies  escorted  to  a  party, 
as  is  English  custom,  by  their  parents  or  some  married  friend.  The 
lady  replies  to  the  invitations  above,  thus: 

"Acceptance. 

" '  Miss  Race  presents  her  compliments  to  Mr.  Hubers,  and  accepts 
with  pleasure  his  escort  for  Wednesday  evening.' 

"  Declining — thus : 

" '  Miss  Race  presents  her  compliments  to  Mr.  Hubers,  and  regrets 
that  she  will  not  be  able  to  go  out  on  Tuesday  evening ; '  or,  '  and 
has  already  accepted  escort  for  Tuesday  evening.' 

"  Notice,  a  lady  does  not  send  her  regards  to  a  gentleman,  though 


OF  NOTES,   LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  4£9 

• 

she  may  to  another  lady.  Nor  does  she  say  she  '  regrets '  if  she  has 
accepted  other  escort :  that  would  be  invidious  to  that  escort.  To 
the  more  familiar  invitation  she  may  reply : 

" '  MR.  RUPERT  NORTH  : 

" '  I  am  not  engaged  for  Mrs.  Hosford's  party,  and  will  await  your 
escort  at  the  hour  mentioned. 

" '  MARY  WILLIS.' 

"A  lady  does  not  sign  herself  Yours  Truly  to  a  gentleman.  Ladies 
who  write  many  business  letters  usually  have  a  set  form  of  signa- 
ture, as  '  Very  truly,  Elizabeth  Haven.' 

"  If  a  gentleman  wishes  to  invite  a  lady  to  take  a  ride  on  horse- 
back, or  in  a  carriage,  he  invites  her  thus : 
" '  Miss  (or  dear  Miss)  HANNAH  : 

"'Will  you  be  able  to  take  a  ride  on  horseback  on  Tuesday 
evening  (or  afternoon),  if  the  weather  is  favorable  ?  May  I  bring 
the  horses  to  your  door  at  6  o'clock  (or  3  o'clock)  ? 

"  '  Yours  sincerely,  ROBERT  MURRY.'  " 

"And  more  ceremoniously  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  I  give  you  no  more  ceremonious  form  for  such  an  invitation,  as  a 
gentleman  has  no  right  to  invite  a  lady  to  ride  out  with  him  unless 
they  are  well  acquainted ;  and  no  lady  will  accept  such  an  invitation 
from  a  person  who  is  nearly  a  stranger." 

"  How  about  wedding  invitations  ?  "  asked  Harriet. 

"  Where  cards  are  issued  the  engraver  will  give  you  a  choice  of 
styles  and  forms  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion.  If  the 
wedding  is  to  be  private,  with  only  a  few  friends,  the  lady  of  the 
house  writes  her  invitations  as  thus : 

'"MRS.  R.  LACY  : 

'"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND:  The  wedding  of  my  dear  Louise  on  Wed- 
nesday morning  will  be  almost  entirely  private.  I  invite  only  a  few 
of  our  most  intimate  friends,  among  whom  I  number  you.  Will  you 
be  present  at  the  ceremony  at  10  o'clock  A.  M.  ? 

'"Yours  faithfully,  ANNA  MERRIT.' 


430  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  The  rule  for  such  notes  is  merely  this  simple  one  :  write  briefly ; 
as  nearly  as  possible  as  you  would  speak.  Do  not  go  into  needless 
explanations :  those  can  be  given  at  another  time  by  word  of  mouth. 
Another  invitation  to  a  social  gathering  may  run  thus : 

" '  DEAR  ANNA  : 

"  '  We  are  to  have  on  Friday  night  a  little  social :  a  very  uncere- 
monious affair.  We  shall  hardly  enjoy  it  unless  you  are  present. 
Will  you  come  and  bring  your  friend,  Mr.  Hermon,  with  you?  I 
trust  he  will  not  wait  for  a  more  formal  invitation. 

" '  Ever  yours,  "  'ADELAIDE  BENTON.'  " 

"Do  you  think  books  called  Letter- Writers,  giving  forms  of  letters 
on  all  subjects,  are  valuable  ?  "  asked  Laura. 

"They  might  possibly  hinder  some  people  from  falling  into  ab- 
surdities ;  but,  as  a  rule,  a  letter  cannot  follow  any  set  form.  One 
should  write  frankly  and  simply  what  they  really  feel,  and  what  they 
think  the  receiver  of  the  letter  should  hear,  or  would  like  to  hear. 
'  Your  letter  to  me,'  wrote  one  lady  to  another, '  was  like  a  delightful 
friendly  call.  You  told  me  all  about  my  friends  who  are  near  you, 
and  asked  after  others  whom  We  know.  You  explained  your  own 
affairs,  and  I  seem  now  to  have  lately  seen  you  and  yours.'  Now 
this  accurately  describes  a  letter  of  friendship.  A  father  who  writes 
to  admonish  a  heedless  son  is  not  likely  to  go  and  look  in  a  '  Com- 
plete Letter- Writer '  to  see  how  to  express  himself.  If  he  does,  it 'will 
not  be  heart  speaking  to  heart,  and  the  son  is  likely  to  be  little  bene- 
fited by  it.  So,  if  your  friend  has  lost  parent  or  child,  you  should 
write  as  you  would  speak  if  you  went  to  him,  clasped  hands,  and 
mingled  tears.  If  you  search  for  some  book  to,  teach  you  what  to 
say,  the  warmth,  the  consoling  vital  force  of  your  letter,  will  be  lost. 
Still  there  are  some  people  who  are  so  heedless,  and  have  such  an 
unhappy  faculty  for  saying  the  wrong  thing,  that  possibly  for  them 
a  '  Complete  Letter- Writer '  might  be  better  than  their  unaided 
genius.  What  do  you  think  of  a  person  writing  thus  ? 


OF  NOTES,   LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  431 

"  '  Mv  DEAR  MARGARET  : 

" '  I  take  my  pen  in  hand  to  inform  you  that  I  am  enjoying  very 
poor  health  at  present,  and  hope  this  will  find  you  sharing  the  same 
blessing.  Our  poor  dear  grandmother  is  at  last  dead.  I  hope  the 
Lord  will  teach  us  to  be  thankful  for  all  our  mercies.  As  I  never 
spread  an  evil  story  of  any  one  until  I  know  it  to  be  true,  I  shall 
not  tell  you  how  it  is  said  that  Cousin  Lucy  is  secretly  married,  and 
that  Ben  Bent  has  forged  his  uncle's  name.  I  hope  so  long  as  you 
know  nothing  of  all  this  for  certain,  you  will  tell  people  who  ask 
you  that  you  know  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it,  and  you  have 
not  heard  a  whisper  of  it.  But  I  have  my  opinions.  I  hear  you  are 
very  unhappy  because  your  friend  Nora  is  dead  ;  but  never  mind,  it 
won't  last  long,  I  was  nearly  distracted  when  sister  Jane  died  for  a 
little  while.  You  know  we  all  have  to  die  some  time.  /  belong  to  a 
very  long-lived  family.  Dr.  Perry  was  in  here  yesterday,  and 
speaking  of  you,  said  you  came  of  very  sickly  stock,  and  were 
bound  to  die  early  of  consumption ;  so  I  hope  you  will  try  and  get 
rid  of  that  nasty  cough.  Mrs.  More  was  telling  me  of  some  sure 
cure :  I  misremember  whether  it  was  strychnine  or  cubebs  ;  perhaps 
you  might  try  a  little  of  both.  I  am  sure  it  was  not  Paris  Green, 

that  was  for  rats. 

" '  Your  friend,  "  'ANN.' 

"  Now  such  a  correspondent  should  be  hedged  in  by  a  '  Letter- 
Writer.'  When  you  write  be  careful  to  avoid  such  phrases  as :  '  I 
take  my  pen  in  hand,'  'As  I  have  nothing  else  to  do,  I  seat  myself 
to  write  you  a  letter,'  '  This  is  to  inform  you  that  we  are  all 'well,  and 
hope  you  are  enjoying  the  same  blessing.'  Spend  a  little  time  in 
thinking,  and  you  will  attain  something  fresh  and  pleasant.  Do  not 
be  above  telling  the  news  in  your  letters.  Tell  all  about  yourself. 
Show  an  interest  in  your  friends  and  their  concerns.  Nothing  is 
more  educative  than  well-conducted  letter-writing.  Do  not,  if  you 
can  avoid  it,  write  things  to  make  people  unhappy.  Write  to  near 
relatives,  as  parent,  sister,  brother,  wife,  husband,  child,  very  fre- 
quently. Neglect  chills  the  heart" 


432  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Does  one  expect  to  reply  to  letters  of  condolence,  or  congratu- 
lation ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  That  is  entirely  a  matter  of  preference.  The  letter  of  condolence 
is  seldom  answered ;  if  at  all,  not  for  some  length  of  time,  unless  in 
case  of  very  intimate  friendship,  where  the  mourners  find  consola- 
tion in  pouring  out  their  feelings.  You  know  that  it  is  in  order  to. 
call  upon  those  who  have  just  suffered  some  bereavement,  but  these 
calls  are  not  returned.  The  fact  is,  that  unless  the  friendship  is  close, 
such  calls,  though  etiquette,  are  painful,  both  to  make  and  receive. 
A  far  better  way  is  to  go  to  the  house,  present  your  card,  and  either 
have  written  on  it,  '  With  deepest  sympathy,'  '  With  sympathy  and 
best  regards,'  or  something  of  that  kind,  or  say  to  the  person  who 
takes  the  card,  '  Give  that  to  so-and-so,  with  my  remembrances, 
and  say  I  wish  that  I  could  do  something  for  her  comfort."  Also,  a 
basket  of  flowers,  a  bouquet,  a  consolatory  poem  (not  original,  pray, 
unless  you  are  a  poet),  or  a  little  volume  suitable  to  the  occasion ; 
any  of  these  will  be  far  better  than  forcing  the  mourner  to  see  you 
and  to  talk." 

"What  are  letters  of  consolation  to  be  like?"  asked  Laura. 

"  Let  them  express  simply  and  earnestly  your  feelings.  Of  course, 
no  one  would  be  so  barbarous  as  to  condemn  the  dead,  nor  to  reflect 
on  the  course  of  the  living.  Some  people  have  a  remarkable  gift  for 
writing  such  letters.  They  are  usually  those  who  are  no  longer 
young,  and  who  have  had  an  experience  of  sorrows.  If  such  an  one 
writes,  the  letter  can  be  long,  because  they  have  something  to  im- 
part. Otherwise,  let  it  be  short.  Do  not  undervalue  the  trial ;  do 
not  fall  back  on  the  common-place.  You  remember  what  Tennyson 
says: 

" '  One  writes,  that  "  Other  friends  remain ;  " 

That,  "  Loss  is  common  to  the  race; " 

And  common  is  the  commonplace, 
And  vacant  chaff  well-meant  for  grain. 
That  loss  is  common,  would  not  make 

My  own  less  bitter,  rather  more ; 

Too  common  !  never  morning  wore 
To  evening,  but  some  heart  did  break.' " 


OF  NOTES,   LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  433 

"  Should  you  write  these  letters  soon  after  you  hear  the  news 
that  calls  them  forth  ?  " 

"  Yes :  especially  the  letter  congratulatory,  for  joy  can  better  bear 
to  be  intermeddled  with  than  sorrow.  But  if  there  is  one  kind  of 
letter  which  you  neglect,  do  not  let  it  be  the  letter  of  condolence, 
for  joy  needs  less  sympathy  than  sorrow." 

"And  what  shall  the  letter  of  congratulation  be  like  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  Let  it  be  brief,  but  not  curt ;  hearty,  but  not  flowery  and  flatter- 
ing. Let  it  be  of  all  things  sincere.  Do  not  mar  it  by  jealous  hints, 
by  ill  prognostications,  by  advice.  If  the  advice  is  to  go  also,  let  it 
go  by  itself,  when  the  congratulatory  letter  has  pleasantly  prepared 
the  way." 

"  I  wish  we  had  a  sample  of  both,"  said  Catherine. 

"  Well,  I  have  in  my  desk  a  letter  written  to  a  friend  on  the  death 
of  a  child.  I  will  read  it  to  you : 

" '  DEAR  FRIEND  :  I  did  not  write  you  when  Adeline  was  married. 
Among  all  the  joy  of  that  occasion,  when  your  house  was  full  of 
friends  and  your  ears  of  congratulations,  I  could  afford  to  be  silent. 
But  now  into  your  household  has  come  another  messenger.  The 
little  one  that  we  so  loved  has  gone  from  you,  and  now  I  feel  that, 
at  least  in  spirit,  I  must  come  and  sit  down  by  your  desolated  hearth- 
stone, and  talk  with  you  of  that  gracious  child  whom  none  saw  but 
to  love.  What !  has  such  exuberance  of  life,  that  delightful  overflow 
of  tenderness,  that  brightness  of  thought,  ended  ?  Not  so,  but  passed 
beyond  us  into  a  fuller  development,  a  happier  and  nobler  state  of 
being.  I  come  among  you  in  heart :  we  sit  and  weep,  for  her  voice 
is  silent  and  her  face  unseen.  But  flow  gently,  tears,  for  I  perceive 
that  no  place  is  really  vacant,  for  among  you,  felt  if  not  beheld,  He 
stands,  Christus  Consolator,  and  He  carries  your  lamb  in  His  bosom. 
The  loss  is  real,  the  woe  unspeakable,  and  yet  going  forth  and  weep- 
ing, sowing  in  God's  Acre  this  Resurrection  Seed,  you  shall  one  day 
come  again  with  rejoicing,  bearing  a  sheaf  \v\\h  you;  for  the  maid  is 
not  dead,  and  her  sleep  shall  have  eternal  morning,  and  you  shall 
28 


434  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

claim  her  again,  in  the  Land  that  now  lies  for  you,  not  very  far 
off. 

" '  Ever  yours,  .' " 

"But,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  every  one  cannot  write  like  that.  I 
perceive  the  pen  of  the  ready  writer." 

"  The  form  of  expression,  however,  is  not  the  important  part ; 
earnest  sympathy,  affection,  the  mingling  of  tears  and  hope,  this  is 
what  is  needed ;  and  the  heart  is  always  comforted,  by  the  utterance' 
of  heart,  no  matter  how  feebly  expressed.  A  letter  of  congratulation 
should  be  equally  sincere.  Here  is  a  note  that  was  written  to  a 
friend,  who  had  unexpectedly  received  an  estate. 

"'  DEAR  HARRY: 

"  '  Is  it  possible  that  dame  Fortune  has  pulled  the  envious  bandage 
from  her  eyes,  and  taken  a  peep  before  conferring  her  favors  ?  She 
certainly  must  have  done  so,  because  this  golden  shower  has  fallen 
from  her  hand  exactly  in  the  right  place  !  I  congratulate  you.  It  is 
always  a  pleasure  to  see  people  made  happy ;  but  when  their  character 
is  such  that  one  is  sure  it  will  be  mellowed  and  improved  by  for- 
tune's favors,  and  that  all  that  they  have  will  be  used  to  increase  the 
welfare  of  others,  then,  there  is  a  double  satisfaction.  I  not  only 
congratulate  you  on  having  received  this  handsome  estate  now,  but 
I  congratulate  you,  that  it  is  only  now.  A  youth  of  industry  and 
self-dependence,  of  careful  honesty,  and  of  scrupulous  economy, 
has  taught  you  money's  worth,  uses,  dangers.  The  fortune  could 
not  have  gone  where  it  would  be  better  appreciated,  and  better  used. 

"  '  Very  truly  your  friend, 
" '  THOMAS  G — '  " 

"  1  etters  of  introduction,  I  believe,  are  not  to  be  sealed  ?  " 

"  They  must  be   unsealed,  as   it  would  be  discourtesy  to  prevent 

the  bearer  from   seeing  what  you  say  of  him.     You  remember  the 

fairy-tale,  of  the  envious  prince,  who  offered  a  handsome  squire  a 

letter  of  recommendation  to  a  governor;  and  writing  it,  '  Cut  off  this 


OF  NOTES,  LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  435 

rascal's  head,'  gave  it  to  him  sealed.  The  squire's  worst  enemy  at- 
tacking him  on  the  road,  took  the  letter  as  best  booty,  presented  it 
— and  lost  his  rascally  head.  A  letter  of  introduction  must  be  brief, 
as  the  bearer  waits  while  it  is  being  read.  The  writer  is  in  a  meas- 
ure responsible  for  the  person  whom  he  commends,  so  do  not  go 
beyond  what  you  know;  be  guarded,  unless  your  information  is 
abundantly  full." 

"  How  shall  they  be  addressed  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"Address  so  that  the  character  of  the  letter  shall  be  known  from 
the  superscription.  Thus,  Mr.  Long  enters  Mr.  Cox's  office,  and 
presents  a  letter  addressed — 

Charles  L.  Cox,  Esq. 

20  Chestnut  Street, 

Introducing  Mr.  B.  Long,  Phila.,     Penna. 

of  Sandusky,  O. 

The  instant  Mr.  Cox  glances  at  this,  he  knows  who  this  is,  and  why 
he  hands  him  the  letter,  and  he  says,  'Mr.  Long,  be  seated,  sir;'  or, 
'  Pray  sit  down.' 

"  Then  he  reads  the  letter,  thus : 

"  '  DEAR  Cox : 

"  '  My  friend  Benjamin  Long,  of  whom  I  have  often  spoken  to  you, 
is  the  bearer  of  this  line.  Mr.  Long  is  preparing  a  work  on  the 
early  history  of  Philadelphia,  and  if  you  can  aid  him  in  securing  the 
examination  of  any  old  books  and  records,  you  will  confer  a  favor 
on  us  both,  while  I  am  sure  your  acquaintance  with  Mi  Long  will 
be  mutually  agreeable.  " '  Yours  as  ev  r 

"'W.  J.  IV'       ER.'  . 

Now   he    knows    all  about   his    guest,   what   he  can  c  urn. 

He  shakes  hands,  and  enters  into  a  prompt  discussion  c  .ins, 

and  offers  such  hospitality  as  he  chooses  to  show." 

"Will  you  give  us  an  example  of  one  or  two  other  letters  of  in- 
troduction ?  "  asked  Samuel. 


436  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  First,  then,  of  a  person  but  slightly  known.  The  address  same 
as  before  in  style.  Within — 

'"MR.  HERBERT  PERRY: 

" '  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  known  for  some  weeks  Mr.  Tracy,  the  bearer  of 
this  note.  He  has  always  appeared  to  me  an  amiable  and  upright  young 
man.  As  he  is  quite  a  stranger  in  your  city  he  desired  me  to  intro- 
duce him  to  some  one  who  could  give  him  business  information. 

Can  you  oblige  him  ? 

" '  Yours  truly,  "  '  F.  GOLDEN.' 

"  Or  here,  where  warm  commendation  is  in  order  : 

'"  MY  DEAR  MRS.  PERRY:  I  take  this  occasion  to  introduce  to  you 
my  particular  friend,  Mrs.  Williams.  I  know  that  I  will  increase 
your  happiness  and  hers  by  making  you  two  acquainted.  I  cannot 
speak  too  highly  of  her  character,  and  the  charm  of  her  society. 

" '  Ever  your  friend,  "  '  NORA  J.  ROBERTS.' 

"Here  is  one  fora  person  desiring  advice,  business  aid,  or  any- 
thing of  that  kind : 

"'HoN.  L.  V.LESTER: 

" '  DEAR  SIR  :  Allow  me  to  introduce  to  your  favorable  notice 
.Mr.  Lucius  Walford,  a  young  gentleman  of  fine  education  and  bril- 
liant talent.  He  is  a  thoroughly  upright  young  man,  whom  I  have 
known  well  from  his  childhood,  and  of  whom  I  have  the  highest 
hopes.  He  desires  your  aid  in  securing  him  a  position  in  the 
Treasury  (or  state  any  other  aid  or  business).  Any  kindness  that 
you  show  to  him  I  shall  regard  as  done  to  myself. 

"  '  Yours,  "  '  ROBERT  SINCLAIR.' 

"And  now  about  recommendations,"  said  Catherine. 

"  These,  too,  will  be  left  unsealed.  They  should  be  clearly 
written  and  expressed,  brief,  to  the  point,  and  only  stating  what  you 
.know.  Never  allow  yourself  to  be  beguiled  by  compassion  into 
recommending  an  unworthy  person,  or  one  of  whom  you  really  know 


OF  NOTES,   LETTERS,   BUSINESS  FORMS,    ETC.  437 

nothing.  This  might  be  doing  a  great  injustice  to  the  community, 
and  to  the  person  who  relied  on  your  recommendation.  These 
letters  should  always  begin  with  a  statement  of  your  means  of  in- 
formation ;  then  your  estimate  of  the  moral  character  of  the  person 
in  question ;  and  then  of  the  particular  fitness  for  any  especial  thing, 
as  thus :  recommendation  of  a  teacher : 

" '  WIMBLEDON,  June  3,  18 — 

" '  I  have  known  Mr.  Horace  Griffith  for  five  years.  I  have  the 
highest  opinion  of  his  personal  worth,  and  also  of  his  scholarship. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  Yale.  He  has,  during  these  five  years,  been  the 
principal  of  our  academy,  and  his  success  in  teaching  has  been  such, 
that  I  can  warmly  recommend  him  to  the  position  of  principal  of  the 
seminary  in  Macon. 

'"WILLITS  RENFREW.' 

"  The  letter  of  recommendation  will  be  addressed  to  an  individual, 
a  board  of  trustees,  a  firm,  a  session,  as  the  case  may  be ;  or  may 
merely  be  an  unaddressed  circular  letter,  stating  qualifications  and 
character,  and  capable  of  being  used  anywhere.  Here  is  one  for  a 
clerk  addressed  to  a  firm : 

'"WALLER  &  BROTHERS: 

"'SiRs:  James  Chapman  has  been  in  my  employ  for  three  years. 
I  can  warmly  recommend  him  as  a  clerk.  He  is  a  young  man  of 
excellent  moral  character,  diligent,  well  acquainted  with  his  business, 
urbane  in  manners,  and  always  popular.  I  trust  that  he  may  find 
employment  with  you. 

" '  Very  respectfully,  "  'AARON  BENEDICT.' 

"  For  a  cook,  waiter,  laundress,  chambermaid,  or  any  other  place 
as  servant,  a  note  of  commendation  may  run  thus : 

"  'This  certifies  that  Susan  Mason  lived  with  me  for  three  years 
as  cook.  She  is  neat,  obliging,  honest,  and  understands  her  business. 
I  found  her  a  very  valuable  servant. 

'"MRS.  H.  DAYBROOK.'" 


438  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Or, 

'"Donald  Ritchie  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  my  man-of-all- 
work.  He  is  diligent,  faithful,  moral.  He  understands  gardening, 

and  is  a  very  handy  fellow  about  a  house. 

" '  RICHARD  KANE.' 

"Or,  if  any  one  sends  for  a  recommendation  of  a  person  whom 
you  cannot  guarantee,  reply  thus : 

'"MRS.  MINKENS: 

" '  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  Sarah  Spade  to  be  able  to 
give  you  any  information  concerning  her.  Let  me  refer  you  to  Mrs. 

Bellows,  her  last  mistress. 

" '  MRS.  GRACEY.' 
"Or, 

" '  MRS.  SIMPSON  : 

" '  Bridget   Murphy   lived  with   me   for  one   month.     I   cannot 
recommend  her.' 
"Or, 

" '  MR.  HALLAM  : 

" '  Thomas  Mulligan  was  in  my  employ  for  three  months.  The  en- 
closed newspaper  item  will  reveal  to  you  his  qualifications  as  they 
appeared  in  a  police  court.' 

"And  now,  how  apply  for  work  of  any  kind  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"This  is  an  important  kind  of  letter,  as  on  its  presentation  of  your- 
self may  depend  your  getting  employment.  Let  it  be  clear,  well 
spelled,  well  written,  respectful,  frank,  brief,  to  the  point ;  and  present 
your  full  case,  giving  your  experience,  recommendations,  wishes, 
whatever  is  needful." 

"  Will  you  give  us  a  sample  or  two  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  Suppose  a  lady  applies  for  a  place  as  teacher : 

"'REV.  DR.  HENSHAW  :  I  should  be  very  glad  to  obtain  the  place 
of  mathematical  teacher,  now  vacant  in  your  seminary  for  young 
ladies.  I  am  a  graduate  of  Mount  Holyoke,  and  have  for  three  years 


OF  NOTES,  LETTERS,  BUSINESS  FORMS,  ETC.  439 

taught  mathematics  in  the  Dayton  Academy.  I  enclose  recommen- 
dations from  my  pastor,  my  teachers  at  Holyoke,  and  from  the 
principal  of  the  Dayton  Academy.  Hoping  that  I  may  receive  a 
favorable  reply, 

"  '  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

" '  HELEN  LOOM  is.' 
"  For  a  place  as  book-keeper : 

" '  SIR  :  Knowing  that  the  place  of  book-keeper  in  your  store  is 
soon  to  be  vacant,  I  beg  leave  to* enclose  to  you  testimonials  from 
Hendricks  &  Brothers,  with  whom  I  have  been  for  five  years.  I 
feel  that  I  need  a  more  southerly  climate,  although  my  health  is  good, 
and  I  am  never  obliged  to  absent  myself  from  my  desk.  If  my  appli- 
cation is  favorably  received  by  you,  it  should  be  my  instant  endeavor 
to  give  you  that  satisfaction  that  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to 
give  Mr.  Hendricks. 

" '  Your  obedient  servant, 

" '  HENRY  PETTINGILL.' 

"  For  a  place  as  farmer  on  a  gentleman's  property : 

"  HON.  WILLIS  GREGG — SIR  :  I  have  learned  that  your  farmer  at 
Willow  Grove  intends  to  move  to  the  West.  I  should  be  very  glad 
to  come  into  your  employ  in  his  place.  I  have  been  farming  for 
five  years  for  Mr.  Slocum,  and  have  kept  his  place  in  excellent  order 
and  made  it  pay  well.  Mr.  Slocum  has  now  given  this  farm  to  his 
son,  who  will  manage  it  for  himself.  I  was  brought  up  on  a  farm, 
and  understand  thoroughly  all  the  kinds  of  work  needed  at  Willow 
Grove.  Squire  Henderson,  Rev.  Dr.  Graham,  and  Mr.  Pease,  of  the 
Wilson  stock  farm,  will  give  you  all  information  about  me.  I  hope, 
sir,  that  you  will  let  me  try  my  hand  at  the  Grove,  as  I  feel  sure  that 
you  will  have  no  cause  to  regret  it. 

" '  Yours,  respectfully, 

" '  OLIVER  WARNER.' 

"  Now  I  have  given  you  examples  enough.     All  that  is  needful  is 


440  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

care,  frankness,  politeness.  Don't  hurry  these  things.  Nothing  good, 
in  a  literary  point  at  least,  is  the  result  of  hurry.  Care,  deliberation, 
thought :  these  make  good  work." 

"  O,  sir,  always?"  said  George.  "  Why,  I  have  heard  that  John- 
son took  only  one  week  to  'Rasselas ;  '  Byron  reeled  off  the  '  Corsair ' 
in  less  than  a  fortnight;  Burns  got  up  'Tarn  O'Shanter'  in  an  after- 
noon ;  Scott  wrote  'IVaver/y'  within  a  month ;  this  dashing  off  makes 
things  brilliant." 

"  I  see,  1  see! "  laughed  the  Stranger;  "you  cram  these  items,  and 
spring  them  upon  me.  Yet,  my  fine  fellow,  I  hold  to  my  first  state- 
ment. These  very  things  were  results  of  hard,  patient  work.  '  Wav- 
erly'  had  been  'cooking'  in  Scott's  brain  for  eight  years,  and  upon  it 
he  brought  to  bear  all  the  accumulated  strength  gathered  in  hard 
toil  on  his  '  Border  Minstrelsy,'  his  editions  of  Swift  and  Dryden,  and 
his  own  best  poems.  Johnson  bent  on  that  one  week's  work  of 
'Rasselas'  the  force  of  the  most  magnificently  furnished  mind  of  his 
century — thirty  years  of  literary  labor  made  him  competent  to  that 
grand  effort  laid  on  the  altar  of  his  filial  love.  Byron's  unusual  genius, 
and  his  best  years  spent  in  vigorous,  careful,  ripening  products;  made 
haste  merely  the  outcome  of  long,  slow  progress,  the  spurt  near  the 
goal.  Burns  was  a  practised  expert,  equipped  with  all  that  natural 
gifts  and  experienced  art  could  afford,  and  his  'out-put'  of 'Tarn 
O1  Shanter'  was  the  setting  into  .script  what  had  long  been  incubated 
in  his  poetic  mind.  The  true  story  of  nearly  all  great  works  is, 
that  they  are  wrought  and  re-wrought  with  intense,  tireless  care. 
You  cannot  succeed  by  'rattling  off/  by  'trusting  to  luck,'  by  'just 
peeling  and  going  in.'  No,  my  little  sons :  there  is  just  one  price 
put  on  excellence,  and  that  price  is — LABOR  !  " 


CHAPTER    TWENTY-FIRST. 

GENERAL   RULES   OF   SOCIETIES   AND    CLUBS. 

R  last  discussion,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  took  such 
hold  of  our  Practical  Life,  and  was  of  so  much  im- 
portance to  us,  that  we  want  another  of  the  same 
style.  We  wish  information  about  parliamentary 
rules,  the  proper  methods  of  proceeding  in  clubs, 
debating  societies,  and  such  meetings." 

"  I  should  like  to  know,  to  begin  with,"  said  Robert,  "  what  the 
word  club  means,  and  what  a  club  is,  in  English  idea." 

"  The  derivation  of  this  name  has  never  been  settled.  We  have  a 
Saxon  word  in  our  tongue,  a  word  with  two  opposite  meanings — 
cleave:  it  means  to  split  or  divide,  and  to  cling  to.  Some  get  club 
from  this  same  root,  with  the  meaning  that  the  members  personally 
cleave  together,  and  that  they  divide  among  them  all  the  expenses. 
Carlyle  says  that  the  word  comes  from  a  German  term,  denoting  the. 
old  chivalric  orders,  and  that  English  clubs  are  the  last  representa- 
tives of  these  orders.  The  English  club  has  never  been  domesticated 
among  us,  and  I  hope  it  never  will  be.  It  affords  temptation  and  oppor- 
tunity for  the  loss  of  domestic  life  and  habits.  A  man  who  belongs 
to  a  club  spends  there  much  time  that  should  be  spent  at  his  home. 
Young  men,  for  their  clubs,  desert  the  society  of  mothers,  sisters, 
sweethearts. 

"  Early  clubs  were  formed  as  places  of  amusements  and 
drinking,  dividing  expenses;  after  the  plague,  and  great  fire 
more  clubs  sprung  up,  as  the  troubles  of  the  time  drove  men  to 
unite  for  mutual  aid  and  defence.  Clubs  are  established  in  favor  of 
all  varieties  of  life  and  pleasure.  There  Ls,  for  instance,  in  London 

(441) 


442  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

a  club  for  each  of  the  great  universities.  They  have,  also,  a  Beef- 
steak Club,  a  Naval  Club,  Army  Club,  Goldsmith's  Club,  Art  Club, 
Literary  Club,  Civil  Service  Club,  Antiquarian  Club.  In  Anne's  time 
a  Mohock  Club  was  formed,  entirely  for  riotous  conduct,  and  a  Blas- 
phemous Club  for  great  swearers.  These  two  called  for  parliamen- 
tary interference,  and  were  suppressed,  but  London  now  has  a  Gam- 
ing Club  in  St.  James  street.  All  these  clubs  have  large  dining 
and  reading-rooms,  also  various  rooms  for  amusements,  and  lodging- 
rooms,  not,  however,  to  be  occupied  continuously.  Only  members 
are  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  place.  Initiation  fees  and  yearly 
fees  are  heavy.  Members  are  proposed  by  some  member  and  then 
voted  for  by  dropping  favorable  white-balls,  or  adverse  black-balls, 
in  a  ballot-box.  One  black-ball  excludes.  Here  arises  the  phrase 
that  a  person  socially  condemned  is  black-balled." 

"  I  remember,"  said  Violet,  "  that  Tom  Hood  wrote  a  poem  on 
clubs,  as  viewed  by  ladies.  One  verse  runs  : 

"  '  Of  all  the  modern  schemes  of  man 

That  time  has  brought  to  bear, 
A  plague  upon  the  wicked  plan, 

That  parts  the  married  pair ! 
My  wedded  friends,  they  all  allow 

They  meet  with  slights  and  snubs ; 
And  say,  They  have  no  husbands  now, 

They're  married  to  the  clubs.'  " 

"  Clubs  were  never  so  popular  as  in  the  days  of  the  Spectator" 
said  the  Stranger. 

"  Will  you  tell  us  if  the  manners  in  the  English  public  meetings 
are  different  from  our  own  ?"  said  Samuel. 

"  Their  general  Parliamentary  law,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  same,  but 
the  manners  of  their  public  meetings  are  different.  They  are  more 
noisy ;  the  men  often  sit  with  hats  on ;  if  they  are  opposed  to  the 
speaker's  opinions  they  hiss,  groan,  and  cry,  '  Down  !  down  ! '  '  No  ! 
no!'  although  their  own  views  may  but  just  have  had  a  fair  hearing. 
If  they  are  in  accord  with  the  speaker  they  are  likely  to  roar,  '  Hear! 


GENERAL  RULES  OF  SOCIETIES  AND  CLUBS.  443 

hear ! '  so  that  for  part  or  the  whole  of  a  sentence  no  one  at  all  can 
hear.  This  is  not  merely  at  political  meetings,  or  o'ut-of-door  assem- 
blies, but  in  great  halls  where  ladies  are  present,  and  prominent 
men  discuss  important  questions,  as  temperance,  disestablishment, 
woman's  franchise,  and  other  great  themes.  The  manners  of  ladies 
at  these  meetings  are  very  amusing.  They  take  their  crochet  or 
knitting,  or  embroidery,  and  sit  working  away,  now  glancing  about 
the  audience,  now  lifting  their  eyes  to  the  speaker.  At  great 
anniversary  meetings,  where  famous  philanthropists,  bishops,  mission- 
aries, orators  of  fine  reputation,  are  speaking,  one  sees  this  fancy 
work.  It  gives  one  less  respect  for  the  mental  status  of  the  ladies. 
At  such  a  meeting,  at  Exeter  Hall,  a  fair  knitter  in  an  elevated  place 
let  her  ball  of  worsted  roll  from  her  hand,  and  it  fell  on  the  bald  pate 
of  a  gentleman  beneath,  the  long  line  of  red  wool  reaching  from  him 
back  to  the  owner.  He  broke  the  thread,  and  gave  the  ball  to  an 
usher,  to  carry  to  the  lady." 

"  Well,  how  ridiculous  !  "  cried  Laura.  "  I  don't  believe  our  ladies 
would  be  so  absurd.  But  what  do  you  think,  sir,  of  the  conven- 
tions and  public  meetings,  conducted  in  various  interests  by  our 
ladies  ?  " 

"  I  think  our  ladies  are  improving.  They  are  becoming  more 
learned  in  parliamentary  laws  ;  are  less  afraid  of  speaking  out  clearly, 
and  less  given  to  sotto-voce  asides,  which  kept  up  a  horrible  hum, 
without  accomplishing  anything.  The  ladies  are  improving  in  ora- 
tory. I  do  not  mean  in  high  tragic  style,  and  flourish,  but  in  a  clear, 
firm,  logical  stating  of  what  they  feel  and  know ;  they  respect  the 
lady  in  the  chair  more,  and  are  more  easily  kept  in  order,  possibly 
because  the  lady  in  the  chair  has  better  learned  her  duties,  and 
privileges.  There  is  still  room  for  improvement :  many  of  these 
meetings  are  perfect  Babels,  full  of  side  issues  and  juntos  for  irrele- 
vant chat,  and  the  only  wonder  is,  that  in  so  much  disorder  they 
have  accomplished  such  a  wonderful  amount  of  important  work  in 
benevolence  and  literature.  One  has  only  to  point  to  the  humane 
achievements  of  women  during  the  war,  and  to  the  remarkable  work 


444  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

of  the  varied  mission  societies,  which,  within  fifteen  years,  have  fairly 
sown  the  world  with  teachers,  nurses,  physicians,  missionaries  of 
the  Word,  and  are  fast  turning  deserts  into  gardens  of  the  Lord,  to 
see  what  our  ladies  are  capable  of  doing,  even  as  learners.  When 
they  have  learned,  they  will  be  five  times  as  efficient" 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  effect  of  these  literary  clubs,  and  de- 
bating societies,  or  lyceums,  scattered  through  the  country  ?  " 

"Their  good  effects  are  incalculable.  By  them  thousands  of 
young  men  have  been  rescued  from  spending  time  and  money  at  bar- 
rooms, or  bad  resorts.  These  societies  have  disseminated  reading 
matter  and  general  information;  have  given  young  folks  interest, 
self-respect,  social  standing,  and  have  educated  for  efficient  public 
life  many  of  our  citizens.  Parents  should  encourage  their  sons  and 
daughters  to  join  such  societies;  they  should  not  grudge  the  fees 
and  small  expenses  entailed  by  them.  Those  societies  should  be 
most  favored  where  the  members  are  of  both  sexes,  and  of  the 
seniors  as  well  as  juniors  of  the  community.  I  have  in  mind  one 
village,  which  has  a  lyceum  sixty-five  years  old.  The  library  has 
two  thousand  volumes,  the  meetings  are  fortnightly,  for  eight  months 
each  year,  and  no  town  in  the  country  can  boast  a  better  set  of 
young  people,  well  informed,  friendly,  well  mannered ;  they  have  sent 
into  active  life  men  of  all  professions,  who  have  reached  high  place, 
and  women  who  have  had  the  best  of  influence  on  rising  genera- 
tions." 

"I  am  glad  to  know  your  views,"  said  Samuel ;  "last  night  at  the 
village  store  they  were  talking  about  these  societies.  Most  of  our 
folks  favored  them,  but  some  opposed." 

"Will  you  tell  us  how  to  organize  such  a  society?  Those  here 
were  started  before  our  time,"  said  Peter.  "  We  may  go  West:  and 
want  to  begin  something  new." 

"  The  first  move  will  be  to  issue  a  call,  either  written  or  printed, 
and  put  it  up  where  most  people  will  be  likely  to  see  it,  as  at  post- 
office,  depot,  village  store ;  or  advertise  your  call  in  the  paper :  here 


GENERAL  RULES  OF  SOCIETIES  AND   CLUBS.  445 

"  'A  FORM  OF  CALL. 

"'Improvement!  All  citizens  of  this  Borough  who  are  in  favor  of 
organizing  a  society  for  Social  Entertainment  and  Mental  Improve- 
ment, are  requested  to  meet  at  (name  the  place)  on  (name  time  and 
date).  Let  there  be  a  good  attendance.' 

"  This  can  be  signed  by  several  prominent  citizens  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  matter ;  or,  here  is  another  style: 

'"To  THE  RESCUE! 

" '  The  young  men  working  in  our  shops  and  factories  being 
offered  no  safe  and  comfortable  place  where  they  can  spend  their 
evenings,  are  driven  to  bar-rooms  and  the  street  corners.  The  citi- 
zens of  Perry  are  invited  to  meet  at  (place,  time,  etc.)  and  make  ar- 
rangements for  opening  a  Reading-room,  with  Coffee-room  attached, 
and  opportunity  for  social,  refined  amusement,  so  that  our  young 
men  shall  be  no  longer  forced  into  places  that  are  disadvantageous 
to  them.'  " 

"And  suppose  the  people  gathered,  what  then?" 

"  Some  leading  man  calls  the  meeting  to  order  and  nominates  a 
Temporary  Chairman ;  the  Chairman,  chosen  by  acclamation,  takes 
his  place  and  explains  the  object  of  the  meeting.  He  next  declares 
nominations  in  order,  and  requests  that  a  Chairman  and  Secretary 
may  be  appointed.  The  proper  style  of  doing  this  is,  some  one  says  : 

'  I  move  that  Mr. be  chosen  Chairman  ; '  another:  '  I  second  the 

motion.'  The  gentleman  temporarily  in  the  chair  says  :  '  It  has  been 

moved  and  seconded  that  Mr. be  chosen  as  President  of  this 

Meeting.  All  that  favor  this  motion  will  say  Aye.'  Then  come 
the  Ayes.  'All  opposed  to  the  motion  will  please  say  No.'  The 
Noes,  if  there  are  any.  The  Chairman  pronounces  for  the  majority. 
Sometimes,  In  difficulties,  a  rising  vote  is  taken :  ayes  and  noes  sig- 
nifying their  views  by  rising  in  turn.  Sometimes  ballots  are  taken  : 
the  Secretary  is  chosen  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Chairman.  It  is 
better  that,  previous  to  this  meeting,  some  of  the  leading  spirits,  in 


446  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

private  session,  should  have  decided  what  to  do,  and  how  to  place 
the  desired  objects  before  the  meeting.  When  the  meeting  is  organ- 
ized the  Chairman  directs  the  Secretary  to  read  the  Call.  Then  in  a 
few  words  he  opens  the  business  and  inquires  the  pleasure  of  the 
meeting.  After  more  or  less  discussion  it  is  usual  to  appoint  a  Com- 
mittee to  draft  resolutions  expressing  the  views  of  the  assemblage. 
These  are  generally  nominated — an  uneven  number — and  all  voted 
for  together :  the  one  first  nominated  being  the  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee." 

"Why  should  committees  be  of  uneven  number?" 
"To  prevent  a  tie  or  equal  division  of  opinions.  While  the  Com- 
mittee have  retired  to  draw  up  resolutions,  the  meeting  will,  at  the 
request  of  the  Chairman,  be  addressed  by  various  speakers,  and  the 
Chairman  should  be  discreet  in  calling  out  influential,  intelligent 
speakers,  and  those  who  represent  the  varied  views  of  the  community. 
When  the  Committee  returns,  its  Chairman  reads,  addressing  first  the 
Chairman  of  the  meeting,  the  resolutions  drawn  up.  The  Chairman 
of  the  meeting  then  calls  for  discussion.  If  the  resolutions  please 
all,  they  are  adopted ;  if  they  fail  to  please  in  all  particulars,  amend- 
ments are  moved,  thus :  '  Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  that  the  words  "  give 
them,"  in  such  and  such  a  resolution,  be  thus  changed.'  The  amend- 
ments are  then  discussed,  but  all  in  order:  only  one  member 
speaking  at  a  time ;  and  if  the  amendments  are  adopted  by  the 
meeting,  rhe  Chairman  orders  them  to  be  added  to  the  document, 
and  in  its  revised  state  it  is  read  and  voted  upon  thus  :  'Gentlemen 
(and  ladies),'  or  '  Ladies  (and  gentlemen),  you  have  now  heard  the 
Report  of  the  Committee.  What  shall  be  done  with  it  ? '  Some 
one  says :  '  I  move  that  it  be  adopted ; '  another :  '  I  second  the 
motion.'  Chairman :  '  It  has  been  moved  and  seconded  that  the 
report  be  adopted.  All  in  favor  say  Aye.  All  opposed  say  No.' 
'  Carried '  or  '  Defeated,'  as  case  is.  The  Secretary  keeps  the 
minutes  of  the  meeting;  that  is,  he  writes  accurately  what  is  done, 
and  reads  the  report  at  the  next  meeting  :  he  should  be  concise  and 
exact.  When  it  is  time  to  adjourn  some  one  says :  '  Mr.  Chairman, 


GENERAL  RULES  OF  SOCIETIES   AND  CLUBS.  447 

I  move  that  this  meeting  adjourn  '  (or,  until  such  a  day).  The  mo- 
tion to  adjourn  cannot  be  debated :  if  no  one  seconds  it,  it  falls ;  if 
it  is  seconded,  then  it  is  put,  as  other  motions,  to  the  house,  and  the 
majority  carries.  If  any  infringement  of  order,  as  debating  on  ad- 
journment motion,  or  several  trying  to  speak  at  once,  or  getting  rude 
or  personal  in  speech,  occurs,  the  Chairman  must  understand  parlia- 
mentary order,  and  control  the  meeting.  If  he  does  not  approve 
the  manner  of  speech,  considering  it  rude  or  offensive,  he  says 
'  Order,'  or  raps  on  the  table  and  looks  at  the  speaker.  If  several 
rise  at  once  and  insist  on  speaking,  he  decides  as  honestly  as  he  can 

for  the  one  that  he  supposes  rose  first,  saying  :  '  Mr.  D has  the 

floor.'  If  time  for  speech  has  been  limited,  he  raps  when  the 
speaker  exceeds.  If  the  audience  which  made  the  rule  wish  to  have 
it  broken,  they  cry  :  '  Go  on  !  go  on  ! '  and  the  Chairman  by  a  nod 
permits  the  speaker  to  proceed.  The  rap  of  the  Chairman  with  his 
gavel  should  always  be  respected  :  no  regular  business  can  be  trans- 
acted until  a  meeting  is  organized.  When  the  minutes  of  a  former 
meeting  are  read,  the  Chairman  says  :  '  You  have  heard  the  minutes  : 
shall  they  be  accepted  ? '  If  any  one  sees  that  something  was  omit- 
ted, he  moves  an  amendment,  and  finally  by  '  moving,'  seconding,' 
and  '  putting  to  the  house,'  the  matter  is  settled.  The  Chairman  has 
power  to  request  the  withdrawal  of  any  disorderly  one  who  refuses 
to  yield  to  his  proper  authority.  If  the  rebel  will  not  go,  the  Chair- 
man can  order  him  removed.  This  process  in  Parliament  is  called 
Naming.  All  motions  must  be  reduced  to  writing  if  the  meeting 
desires  it.  It  is  customary  after  a  discussion  of  a  question  for  the 
Chairman  to  say:  'Will  the  house  now  consider  it?'  or, 4  Is  this 
meeting  now  ready  for  the  question  ?  ' " 

"After  a  motion  is  adopted,  may  it  be  altered?"  said  Peter. 

"  Some  one  may  move  its  reconsideration." 

"What  is  a  good  book  on  parliamentary  law?"  asked  Robert. 

"  There  are  several.  '  Jefferson's  Manual '  is  standard,  is  clear, 
compact,  complete,  and  cheap." 

"  Is  there  appeal  from  any  decision  of  the  Chair?" 


448  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Yes,  a  member  may  appeal,  and  must  be  allowed  to  state,  with 
quiet  and  courtesy,  the  question  and  ruling;  then  the  Chairman  is 
bound  to  put  it  to  the  meeting:  'Shall  the  decision  of  the  Chair 
stand  ?  Ayes  ?  Noes  ?  '  and  then  announce  the  verdict  of  the 
house." 

"  What  is  a  Committee  of  the  Whole  ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  When  the  entire  assembly,  by  adopting  a  properly  put  motion  to 
that  effect,  resolves  itself  into  a  Committee  to  consider  any  affair, 
then  the  Chairman  of  the  assembly  appoints  a  Chairman  for  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole,  and  himself  takes  a  seat  with  other  members, 
while  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  sits  at  the  desk." 

"  What  is  a  quorum  ?"  asked  Violet. 

"  It  is  that  number  out  of  all  the  members,  which,  by  the  consti- 
tution  of  the  society,  is  pronounced  capable  of  legally  conducting  the 
business.  All  members  of  an  assembly  are  on  a  parity,  except  as 
they  are  chosen  officers  by  the  vote  of  the  whole.  A  society  meet- 
ing is  a  true  republic.  Every  member  is  bound  to  help,  by  example 
and  otherwise,  in  maintaining  order,  and  aiding  the  Chairman  in  a 
constitutional  exercise  of  his  duties." 

"  Suppose  that  the  meeting  wants  to  suppress  a  question?" 

"They  can  move  an  adjournment;  move  to  lay  it  on  the  table 
for  future  consideration;  move  that  the  question  now  be  put;  move 
a  destructive  amendment;  move  an  indefinite  postponement;  or  a 
postponement  until  next  meeting." 

"  What  is  the  general  form  of  a  constitution  for  a  lyceum,  or  liter- 
ary society  ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  First  comes  the  preamble,  stating  the  '  why'  of  the  organization, 
closing  with  such  words  as  these :  '  the  undersigned  agree  to  form  an 
association,  and  for  its  government  do  adopt  the  following  'Constitu- 
tion! This  comes  next  in  this  style:  Article  ist.  The  name  and 
object.  2d.  -A  list  of  the  officers  :  these  are  usually  President,  Vice- 
President,  two  Secretaries,  Treasurer  and  Librarian.  3d.  Duties  of 
officers.  4th.  On  appointment  of  Committees.  5th.  Conditions  of 
membership.  6th.  Times  of  meeting,  jth.  Collection  of  dues.  8th. 
Penalties,  pth.  Alterations  and  amendments." 


GENERAL  RULES  OF  SOCIETIES  AND  CLUBS.  449 

"What  is  the  usual  order  of  exercises?  "  inquired  Thomas. 

"  I  will  first  give  you  the  primary  rules  of  debate.  The  ques- 
tion is  announced  by  the  President :  the  affirmative  opens,  the  nega- 
tive closes.  Two  speak  by  appointment  on  either  side;  then  when 
they  have  alternated,  and  concluded,  others,  as  they  choose,  discuss, 
affirmative  and  negative  alternately,  negative  closing.  Time  of 
speaking  limited  by  rule ;  number  of  times  one  member  may  speak 
limited  also.  The  President  at  the  close  decides  the  question,  for  the 
party  using  the  strongest  arguments,  and  irrespective  of  his  own 
personal  belief.  But  when  the  decision  thus  made  trenches  on  his 
conscience,  or  firm  belief,  he  may  state  his  views  afterward,  to  clear 
himself.  The  order  of  business  is : 

"  '  i.     Call  to  order. 

"  '  2.     Call  the  roll. 

"  '  3.     Read  minutes  of  last  meeting. 

"  '  4.     Propositions  for  membership. 

"  '  5.     Reception  of  members,  etc. 

" '  6.     Reports  of  standing  and  special  committees. 

"  '  7.     Officers  report. 

"  '  8.     Oration,  if  any. 

" '  9.     Debate. 

'"  10.  New  business. 

"'  II.  Motion  to  adjourn.' " 

"  Will  you  tell  us  something  about  resolutions?"  said  Dora. 

"  These  are  brief  methods  of  expressing  opinions.  If  a  distin- 
guished guest  is  present,  there  may  be  a  complimentary  resolution. 
If  the  society,  or  any  member,  has  had  some  great  good  fortune, 
resolution  congratulatory.  If  a  person  or  a  corporation  has  done 
some  good  act,  that  the  society  desire  to  uphold,  resolution  com- 
mendatory. If  some  public  calamity,  or  private  affliction  of  a  mem- 
bjr  has  befallen,  or  a  member  dies,  resolution  of  condolence.  If  a 
favor  has  been  received  by  the  society,  a  resolution  of  thanks.  If  a 
public  nuisance  exists,  resolution  of  remonstrance.  If  any  one  at 
a  distance  is  acting  in  behalf  of  the  society,  resolution  of  instruction. 
29 


450  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

If  an  officer  retires  from  service,  resolution  of  compliment,  and  so 
on.  The  resolution  begins,  '  Whereas  ; '  and  states  the  ^vhy  of  the 
resolution  ;  then,  Resolved,  and  there  are  usually  three  or  four  resolveds 
in  one  set  of  resolutions,  as — '  Resolved  that  the  thanks  of  this  society 
are  due  to  X.  V.  for  his  able  and  impartial  performance  of  his  cuties. 

" l  Resolved,  That  on  retiring  from  office,  he  carries  with  him  our 
highest  esteem  and  regard,  etc.,  etc. 

"  'Resolved,  That  his  associates  in  his  late  duties  regard  his  retire- 
ment as  their  great  loss,  while  they  trust  that  to  him  it  will  be  a  gain, 
and  that  his  future  may  be  crowned,  etc.,  etc. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  transmit  a  copy  of 
the  preamble  and  resolutions  adopted  on  this  occasion.'" 

"  How  is  a  petition  managed  ?  "  asked  Henry. 

"  When  a  society  or  community  desire  some  certain  thing,  as 
the  suppression  of  liquor-selling  in  their  midst,  they  set  this  forth  in 
a  petition,  addressed  to  the  proper  authority,  and  praying  that  thus 
and  so  be  done.  Then  as  many  signatures  as  possible,  especially 
of  tax-payers,  and  influential  people,  are  added  to  the  petition,  for  in 
signatures  lie  the  weight  of  petitions.  So  of  remonstrances  :  suppose 
a  new  street  is  to  be  cut,  or  some  nuisance,  as  a  slaughter-house, 
tannery,  or  other  unpleasant  establishment,  is  to  be  set  up  in  a  com- 
munity. Then  the  Common  Council,  or  the  town  authorities  or 
district  authorities,  whoever  can  control  the  fact,  will  be  addressed 
by  a  remonstrance,  signed  by  the  householders,  land-owners,  tax- 
payers, whose  wishes  will  have  weight,  and  the  more  and  stronger  the 
signers  the  more  likely  will  their  petition  be  to  meet  with  success. 
The  petition  or  remonstrance  expresses  the  public  wish,  and  the 
public  wish  is  the  controlling  power  in  republics. 


CHAPTER    TWENTY-SECOND. 

OF   DIVORCE  AND    HASTY   MARRIAGES. 

,RE  you  coming  in  to  our  meeting?"  asked  John 
Frederick,  as  the  burly  figure  of  the  butter-buyer 
appeared  in  the  doorway  of  the  Bureau  of  Infor- 
mation. 

"  No;  I'm  gofng  to  the  county  town.     Have  to 
be  there  to-morrow  at  court.     Neighbor  Jones  and 
his  wife  are  trying  to  get  a  divorce,  and  I'm  a  witness." 
"  Which  one  are  you  witness  for  ?  "  asked  Peter. 
"I  don't  justly  know.     I  might  speak  for  either  of 'em,  so  far  as 
living  like  cat  and  dog  are  concerned,  but  I  don't  know  which  of  'em 
has  spinnyed  me." 

"Well,  which  one  do  you"  side  with?  Which  one  is  right?" 
asked  Dora,  earnestly. 

"Neither  of  'em.  Why  nothing  was  to  hinder  them  living  like 
two  doves,  only  they  got  notional  and  cross-grained.  She's  a  tip- 
top butter-maker:  neat,  saving;  he's  an  honest  man,  without  a  bad 
habit ;  and  he's  a  first-rate  provider,  too.  But  there :  they  haul  op- 
posite ways.  When  me  and  my  wife  married,  we  concluded  it  was 
done  for  good.  Says  the  parson  :  '  Whom  God  hath  joined  together, 
let  not  man  put  asunder.'  Now  ain't  the  county  judge  a  man  ?  But 
folks  now-days  seems  to  think  they  can  break  that  marriage  bar- 
gain as  easy  as  wink.  I  don't  know  what  the  world  is  coming  to. 
Things  was  done  up  tighter  in  my  young  days.  Says  I  to  my  son 
Jeremiah  yesterday,  talking  on  occasion  of  Jones  :'  Jeremiah,  know 
your  mind  if  you  talk  of  getting  married,  and  don't  bring  a  wife  here 

(451) 


452  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

one  year  and  want  to  part  from  her  the  next.     It's  for  good  and  all, 
Jeremiah/  I  says ;  '  the  State  is  set  up  on  the  family,  and  let  there 
be  no  loose   foundation-work,  or  the  whole  thing  will   be  dropping 
about  our  ears.     Jeremiah,  if  you  bring  a  wife  here,  she  stays' " 
"And  what  did  Jeremiah  say  to  that  ?"  asked  Violet. 
"  O,  he  took  to  it  kindly;  he's  courtin'  Nanny  Blake." 
"And  do  you  really  think  there  are  more  divorces  than  there  were 
formerly  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"  Think  !     Why,  I  know  it." 
"And  what  is  the  reason  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  Not  being  a  learned  man,  I  can't  tell  you,  my  young  friend ;  nor 
am  I  wise  enough  to  unravel  how  to  stop  it,  and  get  into  a  better 
frame  of  mind.  I  expect  all  the  bears  are  dead ;  my  mother  used  to 
tell  us,  bear  and  forbear  were  nice  creatures  as  family  pets.  But 
I  will  say,  seeing  our  Stranger  here  is  talking  to  you  about  this, 
that,,  and  the  other,  concerning  life,  I  wish  he  would  just  fairly  lay 
his  best  work  out  on  this  question  of  divorce  to  you  young  folks." 

"  Divorce !  "  shouted  Henry  ;  "why,  we  are  not  even  married  yet. 
It  is  too  soon." 

"  Not  a  bit,  my  young  friend ;  now  is  the  time  to  impress  on  your 
mind  what  a  solemn,  binding,  everlasting  institution  marrying  is  :  so 
that  you  will  not  rush  into  it  pell-mell,  frantic,  thoughtless,  and  then 
be  just  as  frantic  to  get  out  of  it." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  I  have  been  thinking  of 
this  very  subject;  and  now,  young  friends,  we  will  talk  of  it  to- 
night." 

The  butter-buyer  went  his  way ;  the  doctor's  gig  stopped  at  the 
gate,  and  Thomas  got  out. 

"  Doctor,"  cried  the  Stranger  to  Thomas'  father,  "  if  you  are  in  no 
haste,  come  in  for  the  evening.  I  have  up  a  theme  on  which  you 
have  thought  and  talked  much,  and  where  you  can  give  us  your  help 
— Divorce  and  Hasty  Marriages." 

"'Yes,  yes,  only  you  have  '  turned  them  wrong  end  to  ! '  "  laughed 
the  doctor;  "hasty  marriage  comes  first,  and  it  is  the  fruitful  root  of 


OF  DIVORCE  AND   HASTY  MARRIAGES.  453 

divorce.  Yes,  I've  time  for  such  a  subject.  Just  hitch  the  horse, 
Thomas." 

"  Peter,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  read  this  sentence  from  Sir  James 
Mackintosh." 

Peter  read : 

"  'Almost  all  the  relative  duties  of  human  life  will  be  found  to 
arise  out  of  the  two  great  institutions  of  property  and  marriage ; 
these  constitute,  preserve,  and  improve  society;  upon  their  gradual 
improvement  depends  the  progressive  civilization  of  mankind ;  on 
them  rests  the  whole  order  of  civilized  life.' " 

"  Cornelius  L.  Calvus,  a  Roman  poet,  has  this  line,"  said  the  doctor, 
"  and  I  wish  you  to  observe  its  philosophy :  '  He  gave  them  divine 
laws ;  instituted  marriages,  and  built  spacious  cities.'  This  is  the 
exact  progress  indicated  in  the  book  of  Genesis ;  it  is  also  the  history 
of  human  civilization:  first,  recognition  of  divine  law;  then  the 
sanctity  of  the  family;  then  rises  national  prosperity." 

"  The  learned  Story  has  declared,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  '  The 
contract  of  marriage  is  the  most  important  of  human  transactions. 
It  is  the  very  basis  of  civilized  society.'  It  is  affirmed  that  'The 
stability  of  the  family  is  the  criterion  of  the  moral  character  of  an 
age.'  Therefore,  there  is  no  subject  second  to  this  in  importance; 
and  even  to  be  good  citizens,  it  is  needful  that  you  should  clearly 
apprehend  the  institution  of  marriage." 

"  It  is  important,  then,  that  you  should  first  understand  the  intention 
6>f  marriage"  said  the  doctor ;  "  God  instituted  marriage  for  three 
great  ends:  ist.  The  preservation  of  chastity;  2d.  The  continuance 
of  a  physically  strong  race ;  3d.  For  the  elevation  of  the  individual 
to  the  highest  possible  perfection  and  the  best  social  power." 

"  Then,"  said  Thomas,  "  as  divorce  enters  the  family  and  social 
system  to  frustrate  these  grand  ends,  it  is  an  important  factor  in, 
moral,  individual  and  public  degradation,  and  its  causes  and  effects 
must  be  understood." 

"  I  wish  to  know,"  asked  Peter,  "  if  you  recognize  any  divorce  as 
just  and  lawful — lawful as  something  beyond  legal f  " 


454  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  the  doctor.  "  To  begin  with,  the  Scripture  recog- 
nizes the  fact,  that  when  a  husband  forsakes  his  pledged  faith  to  his 
wife,  and  takes  another  in  her  place,  or  when  a  wife  thus  abandons 
her  fealty  to  her  husband,  the  marriage  is  made  null  and  void  ;  the 
accord  of  hearts  is  broken;  the  family  is  rendered  incapable  of  being 
a  fountain  of  moral  purity;  the  three  great  aims  of  marriage,  as  I  just 
stated  them  to  you,  are  frustrated,  and  the  civil  law  is  competent  to 
announce  the  dissolution  of  this  violated  bond." 

"Are  there  any  other  valid  grounds  of  divorce?"  asked  Henry. 

"  Most  of  our  States  recognize,  to  begin  with,  two  others  :  habitual 
intemperance  and  cruelty.  Now  these  two  causes  undoubtedly 
render  impossible  the  securing  of  the  true  object  or  end  of  marriage; 
for,  first,  intemperance  is  nearly  alvyays  attended  with  unchastity,  while 
it  vitiates  the  blood,  and  is  a  fruitful  cause  of  disease  :  so  that  from 
a  drunken  parent  cannot  proceed  a  vigorous  race.  Nor  in  marriage, 
where  one  party  is  drunken,  can  either  party  be  morally  or  otherwise 
improved.  As  a  physician  I  agree  with  the  judge  who,  granting  a 
divorce  from  a  man  given  to  intemperance,  said,  that  not  only  '  no 
woman  should  be  compelled  to  live  with  one  who,  by  a  most 
dangerous  habit,  had  fallen  from  his  legitimate  estate  of  manhood ; 
but  he  doubted  whether  a  woman  would  be  justified  in  living  with  a 
man  who  would  make  her  mother  of  a  mentally  and  physically  de- 
teriorated race  of  children,  born  full  of  disease,  doomed  to  misery, 
and  with  unnaturally  strong  tendencies  to  mental  and  moral  dis- 
order.' So,  also,  savage  cruelty  unchecked  rises  often  to  murder  or 
to  maiming,  redounds  upon  children,  making  them  mental  or  physical 
weaklings,  and  destroys  individual  rights  which  the  State  is  bound  to 
respect.  But  in  these  cases,  as  well  as  where  one  of  a  married 
couple  becomes  a  criminal,  and  is  condemned  to  long  imprisonment, 
it  is  my  opinion  that  not  divorce,  permitting  the  parties  to  remarry 
and  so  to  confound  and  entangle  family  relations,  but  a  decree  of  sep- 
aration and  protection  should  be  given  to  the  injured  party,  with 
proper  alimony  in  case  of  the  husband  being  the  transgressor." 

"  Well,"  said  Peter,  "  why,  if  the  husband  is  the  guilty  one,  must 


OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGES.  455 

he  give  his  wife  alimony,  while,  if  the  wife  is  the  culprit,  she  gives 
him  nothing?" 

"  Because,  in  a  pecuniary  point,  the  woman  has  lost  more  than  the 
man  in  marriage ;  for,  if  she  have  had  a  trade  or  business  her  mar- 
riage has  most  likely  broken  it  up  by  absorbing  her  in  the  cares  of 
a  household,  while  family  life  does  not  so  destroy  a  man's  business 
relations ;  also  the  mother  is,  by  the  duties  of  her  maternity,  hin- 
dered from  active  and  money-making  life,  while  a  father  is  not  so 
diverted." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  that  by  these 
decrees  of  separation  you  make  the  innocent  suffer  with  the  guilty. 
The  woman  who  has  made  an  intolerably  bad  marriage,  herself  free 
of  all  blame,  and  who  might  herself  be  happy,  and  make  some  good 
man  happy  in  the  marriage  state,  is  forced  to  remain  in  singleness  or 
widowhood :  so  of  the  man  whose  wife  has  turned  out  a  drunkard." 

"  I  will  answer  you,  John  Frederick,  thus,"  said  the  Stranger : 
"first,  in  all  questions  like  this,  we  must  generalize  before  we  individ- 
ualize. The  unit  must  not  be  considered  before  the  many:  the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number  is  the  principle  that  must  dic- 
tate our  course.  Now,  if,  in  these  instances  which  we  have  stated, 
separation,  and  not  divorce  with  remarriage,  is  the  rule,  then  the 
sanctity  of  marriage,  its  abiding  character  will  be  better  maintained 
before  the  community,  than  if  divorced  people  remarried  and  proved 
to  the  public  that  the  marriage  contract  could  be  readily  annulled. 
As  marriage  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  good  of  the  whole, 
and  as  all  that  enfeebles  this  tie  is  most  dangerous  to  the  moral  and 
political  prosperity  of  the  whole,  then  we  see  it  better  to  bear 
heavily  on  the  comfort  of  certain  individuals  than  to  relax  the  bar- 
riers that  guard  the  safety  of  the  entire  community ;  but  I  answer 
you  in  the  second  place  that  in  nearly  all  these  instances,  which 
you  suggest,  the  separated  parties  are  not  innocent  of  folly  if 
they  are  of  crime.  I  say  to  you,  that  in  a  long  and  closely  observant 
life,  I  have  not  found  an  instance  where  such  a  separation  became 
needful,  where  the  marriage  contract  had  not  been  entered  in  oppo- 


456  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

sition  to  the  advice  or  remonstrances  of  parents  or  friends,  or  in 
direct  antagonism  to  common-sense,  or  from  trifling  or  wrong  motives. 
Dozens  of  times  have  I  seen  it  true  that  the  scoundrel's  separated 
innocent  wife  was  harvesting  the  folly  of  the  reckless,  rebellious  girl, 
who  refused  to  heed  the  warnings  of  her  long  experienced  mother; 
who  disobeyed  the  commands  of  her  father,  who  for  twenty  years 
had  heaped  benefits  upon  her ;  who  resented  the  truthful  statements 
of  a  brother,  far  better  situated  than  she  was,  to  judge  of  the  man  of 
her  fancy.  I  have  known  such  a  family  as  this,  weeping  over  the 
corpse  of  an  innocent  victim ;  I  have  seen  a  woman,  ragged  and 
disfigured,  seeking  with  three  wan  babes  the  house  of  the  father  who 
had  refused  to  enter  the  room  where  she  made  a  reckless  marriage  ; 
I  have  seen  such  a  wronged,  deserted  wife,  dying  in  the  arms  of  the 
heart-broken  mother,  who  on  her  knees  had  besought  her  not  to 
marry  a  man  devoid  of  moral  principle.  All  these,  deeply  to  be 
pitied,  were  proofs  of  that  unchangeable  fact  that  under  the  present 
constitution  of  things  crimes  and'follies  reap  the  same  fields" 

"Are  there  any  statistics  that  show  that  divorce  is  on  the  in- 
crease?" asked  Catherine. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  that  at  present  in  New  England  alone  two 
thousand  divorces  occur  annually.  These  directly  concern  four 
thousand  individuals ;  but  indirectly,  considering  children,  parents, 
near  friends,  and  parties  that  marry  with  these  who  are  divorced,  the 
number  must  reach  some  ten  thousand,  annually  interfered  with  in 
their  domestic  relations.  In  one  hundred  years,  ending  1785,  New 
England  divorces  were  4.3  annually.  In  1800  about  one  divorce  for 
every  one  hundred  marriages ;  but  by  1864  the  ratio  was  one  divorce 
to  every  ten  marriages.  The  ratio  of  divorce  now  in  New  England 
is  greater  than  in  France  at  the  lawless  period  of  the  Revolution. 
In  the  West,  though  that  portion  of  territory  is  connected  with  very 
loose  ideas  as  regards  divorce,  the  ratio  is  one  divorce  to  twelve  mar- 
riages. A  newspaper  correspondent,  in  one  of  the  finest  Western 
cities,  says :  '  Divorce  has  become  a  deadly  epidemic  which  no  one 
can  explain.' " 


OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGES.  457 

"  Pause  one  moment  just  there,"  interrupted  the  doctor;  "I  wish 
to  bring  before  your  minds  a  tremendous  moral  fact :  the  contagion  of 
crime ;  vice  as  an  epidemic.  We  doctors  have  learned  but  little 
about  contagious  and  epidemic  diseases — we  are  learning  how  to 
handle  them — but  our  moral  physicians,  our  social  scientists,  know 
less  and  interfere  less  concerning  the  contagion  of  crime.  A  mania 
for  divorce,  did  one  say  ?  So  there  starts  up  a  mania  for  arson,  for 
forgery,  for  suicide.  Cases  of  these  crimes  do  not  stand  alone  :  one 
more,  always.  I  tell  you  young  people  you  need  not  at  all  dread 
physical  sickness  and  death  in  comparison  with  the  way  in  which 
you  should  dread  sin :  SIN,  my  children,  is  the  very  quintessence  of 
death.  Beware  then  of  lightly  regarding  evil,  for,  bad  in  itself,  it  is 
worse  as  the  root  of  further  evil.  Never  be  restive  against  the  legit- 
imate restraints  of  crime :  it  is  as  necessary  as  the  restraint  of  small- 
pox or  the  plague.  Crime  is  the  most  fatal  of  epidemics ! " 

"  What  do  you  suppose,"  asked  Laura,  "  was  the  reason  of  the 
sudden  increase  of  the  divorce  ratio  from  1780  to  1820?  " 

"  No  doubt  the  corrupting  influence  of  French  infidelity  and  the 
lawlessness  of  the  French  revolution.  France  was  at  that  time  a 
horrible  moral  sore  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  corrupting  every  nation 
that  had  any  dealings  there." 

"And  yet  France  has  been  purified  and  bettered  .in  every  way,  by 
that  awful  outbreak,"  said  Robert. 

"Thus 'poor  France  sloughed  off  the  garnered  corruption  and 
iniquity  of  centuries  of  the  most  demoralizing  and  fatal  rule  and 
instruction,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  some  of  the  poison  thrown  off 
by  France  then  interfered  with  the  moral  health  of  every  civilized 
community." 

"  You  spoke,"  said  Henry,  "  of  three  causes  of  divorce  as  legal 
in  all  our  States.  How  many  causes  do  the  different  States  recog- 
nize ?  " 

"  Connecticut,  until  lately,  recognized  nine.  Vermont  admits  six. 
Massachusett,  nine ;  other  States  from  three  to  ten  causes." 

"  I  think  the  Western  States  are  most  notorious  for  divorce,"  said 
Dora. 


458  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  They  may  be  in  popular  report,  but  really,  in  fact,  are  not  before 
New  England.  Truth  is,  the  West  got  its  divorce,  with  the  majority 
of  its  vices,  and  the  greater  portion  of  all  its  virtues,  from  New  Eng- 
land." 

"And  are  divorces  easy  to  obtain  ?  "  demanded  George. 

"Far  too  easy,  which  makes  them  so  frequent  A  chief-justice 
said  one  day,  in  court  to  a  minister,  '  There !  I  have  divorced  a 
couple  quicker  than  ever  you  married  one  ! '  Certain  lawyers  dare  to 
advertise :  '  Divorces  legally  and  quietly  obtained.  Can  be  paid  for 
in  instalments.'  '  Why  are  divorces  so  easily  obtained  ?  '  a  person 
asked  a  lawyer :  '  Because  sixteen  cases  out  of  seventeen  are  collu- 
sive ;  neither  person  obstructs,  each  party  pulls  to  the  same  end,  they 
are  united  in  disuniting]  was  the  reply.  Pity  that  earlier  these 
people  did  not  understand  the  power  of  union!" 

"  But,"  said  John  Frederick,  who  was  reading  law,  "  people  argue 
that  divorce  is  not  wholly  an  evil.  Divorce  sifts  out  the  marriages, 
and  leaves  the  happy  matches,  stable  matches,  and  breaks  the  bad 
ones,  until  finally,  all  homes  are  made  right.  Granting  these  divorces 
often  prevents  abandonment,  violence,  murder,  adultery,  all  great 
crimes.  No  doubt  that  legislators  have  been  impressed  by  these 
considerations." 

"  Now,  John  Frederick,"  said  the  doctor,  "  mark  my  reply,  and  lay 
it  up  for  use,  when  you  are  a  lawyer.  I  will  answer  you  on  the  basis 
of  statistics,  and  as  no  State  has  such  an  admirable  bureau  of  statis- 
tics as  Massachusetts,  I  will  take  those  there  furnished,  and  remem- 
ber, that  Massachusetts  early  received  an  impetus  in  favor  of  morality. 
Now  as  divorces  increase,  marriages  do  not  increase  in  proportion  to 
the  advance  of  the  population ;  second,  as  divorces  increase,  crime, 
leaving  out  liquor  cases  even,  obviously  increases ;  of  these  crimes 
those  which  are  of  a  'licentious  nature,  and  physically  most  de- 
structive to  the  population,  more  than  double  in  a  period  of  only 
twenty  years !  And  one  finds  also,  that  infanticide  increases  as 
divorces  accumulate,  and  also  that  illegitimate  births  multiply.  In- 
stead of  an  improvement  in  public  morals  or  an  improved  public 


OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGES.  459 

conscience,  we  find  deteriorated  morals,  and  much  lower  state  of 
public  opinion.  These  statistics  furnished  by  the  bureau  are  main- 
tained by  court  records,  lawyers'  statements,  the  testimony  of  physi- 
cians, this  last  being  very  emphatic.  Now  as  education,  wealth, 
general  religious  enlightenment  are  advancing  over  the  world,  we 
can  see  but  one  reason  for  the  lowering  of  the  moral  tone  of  this 
State,  which  has  been  a  stronghold  of  virtue ;  and  that  reason  is, 
increased  facilities  for  divorce.  I  will  quote  Dr.  Woolsey,  ex-Presi- 
dent of  Yale  College :  '  Rome  is  the  most  interesting  study  for  us 
Americans,  because  her  vices,  greed  for  gold,  prodigality,  a  coarse 
material  civilization,  corruption  in  the  family,  as  manifested  by  con- 
nubial unfaithfulness,  and  by  divorce,  are  increasing  among  us.  But 
whether  we  are  to  decay,  and  lose  our  present  political  power, 
depends  upon  an  ability  to  keep  family  life  pure  and  simple.'  You 
who  have  read  Horace  will  also  remember  that  that  poet,  who  was 
no  extreme  stickler  for  morals,  felt  constrained  to  write  the  sixth  ode 
of  his  third  book,  to  warn  the  Romans  of  ruin  impending  to  the 
state,  because  the  morals  of  the  family  were  so  corrupt.  Premature 
and  loveless  marriages  and  connubial  infidelity  were  likely  to  eat 
out  the  vigor  of  the  empire.  He  cries,  '  It  was  not  a  race  sprung 
from  such  parents,  that  empurpled  the  seas  with  Carthaginian  blood, 
and  slew  Phyrrus,  and  great  Antiochus,  and  dire  Hannibal !  but  a 
manly  stock  of  rustic  soldiers,  taught  in  hard  industry  to  till  the 
soil,  and  to  cut  wood  for  simple-mannered  mothers!'" 

"  Can  you  tell  us  why  this  evil  of  divorce  has  so  increased?  What 
has  opened  the  way  for  such  a  change  in  morals  ?  " 

"  I  can  tell  you,"  said  the  Stranger,  "and  first  I  will  quote  Presi- 
dent Dwight.  '  The  general  prejudice  against  any  public  exposure 
of  the  evils  attendant  upon  the  violation  of  the  seventh  command- 
ment has  been  carried  to  a  length  unwarranted  either  by  the 
Scriptures  or  common-sense.'  It  is  not  permitted  now  to  expound 
the  intention  of  the  seventh  commandment.  For  asserting  God's 
law  in  that  point  Jonathan  Edwards  was  driven  from  his  pulpit. 
The  captious,  fantastic  niceness  of  modern  times  objects  to  the 


460  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ringing  outspokenness  of  Moses,  to  the  plain  speech  of  Christ,  the 
square  dealing  of  Paul,  on  the  subjects  belonging  to  chastity.  We 
have  grown  more  prudish  but  less  pure.  Parents  elect  for  their 
children  rather  the  silence  and  ignorance  that  may  betray  into 
criminality,  than  the  knowledge  which  should  assure  virtue.  Pa- 
rents neglect,  from  false  delicacy,  properly  to  instruct  their  children. 
The  father  owes  it  to  his  son,  the  mother  to  her  daughter,  that  they 
are  not  left  to  receive  vile  information  from  degraded  acquaintances 
— many  of  whom  wear  good  clothes,  go  to  church  Sundays,  and 
live  in  nice  houses — but  that  in  simplicity,  they  shall  be  given 
moral  and  physiological  knowledge,  inculcated  in  the  spirit  of 
'  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God,'  and  '  Whoso 
shall  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy  ;  for  the  temple 
of  God  is  holy,  which  temple  ye  are'  Now  I  say  that  this  prudish 
neglect  of  instructions  -in  chastity,  by  parents,  teachers,  and  pastors, 
instructions  lying  in  the  straight  line  of  Scripture,  has  been  a  great 
cause  of  viciousness  among  the  young,  and  viciousness  and  happy 
wedlock  are  wholly  incompatible.  Next,  the  country  has  been 
flooded  with  loose  and  obscene  literature.  While  virtue  has  kept 
silent  vice  has  cried  in  the  high  places  of  the  city.  Our  laws  are 
not  half  severe  enough  against  these  moral  poisoners.  If  'by  any 
curious  luck  they  get  to  prison,  they  are  presently  pardoned  out, 
whereas  their  offence  should  assure  life  imprisonment,  for  they  are 
the  destroyers  of  the  citizen,  and  through  him  of  the  State ;  their 
crime  is  murder  and  treason.  Third,  there  has  been  a  lack  of  a  sound, 
scientific,  scriptural  literature,  expounding,  delineating,  and  main- 
taining the  rights  and  position  of  the  family,  its  power,  its  sanctity, 
its  necessity  in  the  body  politic.  The  constitution  of  the  family  is 
moral,  physical  and  political,  and  as  such  it  must  be  recognized  and 
maintained.  Fourthly,  intemperance,  a  crime  destructive  to  the  mar- 
riage estate,  has  been  too  lightly  dealt  with.  Fifthly,  crimes  of  lust 
have  not  met  due  condemnation  and  retribution.  Sixthly,  public 
sentiment  has  too  gently  handled  the  parties  in  divorce  suits." 

"  I  have  understood,"  said  Laura,  "  that  Queen  Victoria  will  not 


,  OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGES.  461 

allow  any  lady  who  has  been  in  any  way  concerned  in  a  divorce  suit 
to  be  presented  at  court.  Even  if  the  lady  is  all  that  is  good  and 
proper,  and  has  been  wronged,  and  has  wronged  no  one,  she  is  not 
allowed  at  court.  Some  of  our  papers  have  condemned  the  queen 
for  that,  and  have  said  that  she  was  too  hard  on  the  unfortunate,  and 
on  her  own  sex." 

"  That  condemnation  arose  from  not  sufficiently  considering  the 
queen's  position.  She  is  the  head  of  a  great  nation  ;  she  is  bound  to 
consider  the  advantage  of  an  empire ;  she  moulds,  in  a  great  measure, 
public  opinion.  Her  majesty  knows  that  on  the  inviolate  sanctity  of 
marriage  the  prosperity  of  her  vast  kingdom  rests.  Just  in  propor- 
tion as  she  relaxes  in  one  iota  the  bulwarks  that  defend  the  marriage 
state,  ruin  begins  to  enter  her  realm.  She  is  where  she  cannot  indi- 
vidualise;  she  must  do  what  is  best  for  the  moral  status  of  the  whole, 
even  though  she  bears  hardly  on  the  unit.  If  those  who  were 
divorced,  but  blameless,  were  admitted  at.  court,  soon  others  would 
slip  in  who,  at  least  in  the  knowledge  or  opinion  of  some,  were  not 
blameless,  and  public  opinion  concerning  the  force 'of  the  marriage 
tie  would  be  relaxed.  We  may  say,  '  Better  feed  a  hundred  impos- 
tors, than  let  one  needy  man  starve;'  but  we  must  in  this  case  of  the 
maintaining  of  the  marriage  bond  say,  '  Better  condemn  one  inno- 
cent, than  let  ten  criminals  escape.'  The  moral  life  of  the  community 
is  here  at  stake." 

"Are  there  other  causes  for  the  recent  lessening  of  regard  for  the 
marriage  tie,  and  the  increase  of  divorce  ?  "  asked  Samuel. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor :  "  there  are  these  among  others,  and  they 
rest  upon  that  idea  of  the  contagion  of  crime — the  epidemic  nature 
of  moral  evils.  The  sanctity  of  marriage  cannot  be  rightly  upheld 
as  long  as  the  MORMON  INIQUITY  is  suffered  to  be  a  blot  on  our  public 
morals.  We  have  no  right  to  encourage  such  a  plague  spot  on  the 
nation.  Why  imprison  a  man  for  bigamy  east  of  a  certain  parallel 
of  longitude,  and  admit  the  bigamist  or  polygamist  to  Congress  be- 
cause he  comes  from  some  particular  Territory  ?  Permitting  Mor- 
monism,  we  not  only  are  guilty  of  a  most  enormous  contradiction 


462  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

and  absurdity,  but  we  foster  a  moral  cancer,  whose  poison,  in  one 
way  or  another,  will  creep  through  all  the  whole  nation.  Another 
evil  is,  that  in  the  enfranchised  blacks  we  have  some  five  million  of 
voters,  who  are  undeniably  lacking  in  a  just  idea  of  purity,  and  of 
the  sanctity  of  domestic  life.  The  circumstances  of  the  early  history 
of  these  people  have  rendered  it  quite  impossible  that  they  should 
have  just  ideas  of  property  and  marriage.  It  is  the  instant  duty  of 
the  State  to  enlighten  these  new  citizens  in  these  regards,  and  en- 
force among  them  right  action.  Business  and  home  are  two  pivotal 
words  whereon  turn  our  American  life.  These  must  be  guaranteed 
to  us  in  purity  and  perpetuity.  On  these  two  ideas  turn  our  pros- 
perity. Assured  in  these,  the  portals  of  unlimited  success  open  to 
our  nation,  and  we  recall  what  Milton  says  of  the  doors  of  heaven : 

" '  Heaven  opened  wide,  her  ever-during  gates, 
Harmonious  sound,  on  golden  hinges  turning.' 

Christ  asserted  two  commandments,  whereon  '  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets.'  Here  are  two  words  whereon  turn  all  our  national 
glory." 

"And  I  wish  to  add  to  what  the  doctor  has  said  a  few  thoughts," 
remarked  the  Stranger.  "  Unhappy  marriages  are  often  hasty  mar- 
riages. The  doctor  once  gave  you  sound  advice  about  premature 
marriage,  with  its  train  of  evils.  Hasty  marriages  are  often,  yes, 
usually,  made  without  the  knowledge  or  hearty  consent  of  friends. 
A  secret  marriage  is  seldom  a  fortunate  one.  There  is  a  moral  loose- 
ness in  those  who  enter  secretly  into  so  honorable  a  relation  as  wed- 
lock. Hasty  marriage,  permitting  no  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  the  contracting  parties,  affords  room  for  terrible  mis- 
takes." 

"And  to  what  do  you  attribute  so  many  hasty  marriages  ?  "  asked 
Violet.  "  I  have  known  of  a  great  many." 

"  They  are  largely  referable  to  the  carelessness  of  parents.  Parents 
allow  their  children  to  go  too  early  into  society.  They  do  not  suffi- 
ciently fortify  their  minds  with  education.  They  ignore  tlie  fact,  that 


OF  DIVORCE  AND  HASTY  MARRIAGES.  463 

from  fourteen  to  twenty  is  the  most  heedless  and  susceptible,  and 
sentimental,  period  in  a  child's  life — the  period  for  hasty,  ill-con- 
sidered, unhappy  marriages.  The  mother  tranquilly  assumes  that 
her  girl  before  twenty  is  '  a  mere  child,'  '  without  such  a  thought  as 
love  or  marriage  in  her  head.'  The  child  sometimes  enlightens  her 
wise  parent  by  eloping.  Young  girls  are  dressed  too  much ;  they 
are  fostered  into  young  ladies  while  yet  children  from  nine  to  four- 
teen. Insane  friends  talk  to  them  about  their  '  little  beaux,'  '  what 
little  boy  they  love  best,'  '  who  is  their  little  husband,'  and  on  this 
reckless  and  disgusting  forestalling  and  degradation  of  God's  high 
mysteries  of  love  and  marriage,  springs  a  mushroom  growth  of  senti- 
mentalism.  The  manner  of  the  education  of  many  of  our  boys  and 
girls  forces  on  them  the  belief  that  love  is  a  whim  or  a  fancy,  and  mar- 
riage a  mere  amusing  trifle.  On  such  monstrous  misapprehensions 
they  found  a  home!  Who  can  expect  its  stability?" 

"And  I  shall  add  to  this,"  said  the  lawyer,  who  had  entered,  "that 
worldliness,  vanity,  fortune-hunting,  are  fostered  or  admitted  by 
parents.  Young  master  is  told  '  to  seek  a  rich  wife :  he  cannot  afford 
to  marry  poor; '  Miss  is  told  that  she  must  marry,  of  course,  or  she 
will  be  an  old  maid.  Honest  sentiment  is  sneered  at ;  true  passion 
is  travestied  in  love  songs,  valentines,  and  red-hot  novels.  One  for- 
gets that  such  simple  pastorals  as  the  Marriage  of  Ruth,  or  the 
Loves  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca,  or  Jacob  and  Rachel,  ever  crossed  the 
earth." 

The  tavern-keeper  had  strolled  into  the  Bureau,  and  had  been 
listening  intently.  He  said  :  "  I  agree  heartily  to  all  this.  But  the 
subject  is  often  talked  of  at  my  place,  and  I  have  heard  a  good  bit 
on  the  other  side.  They  often  say  that  in  the  Latin  countries,  or  in 
countries  where  the  Romish  church  holds  the  reins,  divorce  is  not 
permitted." 

"  It  is  very  unusual  in  those  countries,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  be- 
cause the  Romish  church  esteems  marriage  a  sacrament  which  can- 
not be  annulled.  She  is  very  right  in  heartily  discountenancing 
divorce." 


464  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Aye :  but  it  is  a  proved  fact  that  morals  in  those  lands  are  very 
bad.  Manners  are  much  grosser ;  family  ties  are  less  respected  ; 
children  are  less  reverent  to  parents  ;  the  marriage  vow  is  oftener 
violated ;  illegitimate  births  are  more  numerous,  and  some  folks  say 
all  this  arises  from  the  withholding  of  divorce." 

"  I  admit  the  facts  of  greater  immorality,  but  I  deny  the  cause 
assigned,"  said  the  Stranger.  "As  long  as  in  those  countries  educa- 
tion is  not  general,  as  long  as  the  Bible  is  not  free,  as  long  as  a 
great  mass  of  the  people  cannot  read,  there  will  be  abundant  explana- 
tion of  a  low  state  of  morals,  aside  from  making  lack  of  divorces  a 
cause  of  crime.  Take  any  two  countries  where  education  and  Scrip- 
tural enlightenment  are  on  a  par,  or  nearly  so,  and  you  will  find  the 
morals  better  as  the  law  of  marriage  is  better  upheld.  When,  by  a 
frequency  of  divorce,  we  shake  the  stability  of  the  family,  we  are 
tending  toward  the  destruction  of  the  health,  the  happiness,  the  virtue, 
the  wealth,  and  the  peace  of  the  community." 

"The  old  Romans,"  said  the  doctor,  " could  set  us  Christians  a 
good  example.  During  six  hundred  years  there  was  not  one  divorce. 
In  231  B.  c.  Carvilius  Ruga  divorced  his  wife,  and  thus  was  the  first 
of  his  race  who  took  a  dangerous  step  that  has  since  then  been  often 
followed." 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

THINGS   NOT   TO    BE    DONE. 

HEN  we  were  here  last,"  said  Samuel,  "you  told  us 
of  several  things  which  we  must  not  do ;  as,  for 
instance,  we  must  not  enter  society  too  early,  nor 
marry  hastily.  We  have  heard  of  a  great  many 
things  that  we  must  do,  if  we  are  to  make  the 
most  of  ourselves ;  let  us  hear  more  of  the  things  which  we  must 
leave  undone." 

"Yes,"  said  John  Frederick;  "there  is  more  of  'Thou  shalt  not' 
than  of  '  Thou  shalt '  on  the  statute  books :  devote  to-day  to  the 
prohibitory  laws." 

"  There  were  some  visitors  at  our  table  last  night,"  said  Laura, 
"  and  they  were  saying  how  easy  it  is  for  people  to  wreck  themselves. 
One  of  the  gentlemen  remarked  that  young  men  often  adopted  rash 
opinions,  or  advocated  certain  theories,  hastily  assumed,  which  ever 
afterward  stood  in  the  way  of  their  success.  He  instanced  Swift, 
who,  by  venting  his  spleen  in  the  Tale  of  a  Tub,  lost  himself  a  bish- 
opric to  which  he  eagerly  aspired.  For  when  this  high  office  was 
about  to  be  conferred  on  him,  his  opponents  brought  up  the  Tale  of  a 
Tub,  and  defeated  him." 

"  Let  us  have  our  shalt  nots  upon  certain  subjects,"  said  Henry ; 
"  and,  to  begin  with,  you  have  said  little  or  nothing  to  us  on  the  sub- 
ject of  travelling:  are  there  any  shalt  nots  connected  with  that  ?  " 

"Certainly  there  are.  Do  not,  from  a  love  of  travelling,  get  a 
habit  of  aimless  running  about,  which  wastes  your  time  and  money, 
and  unsettles  your  ideas." 

30  (465) 


466  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

11  But  a  young  man  is  much  better  off,  is  worth  more,  is  better 
able  to  take  care  of  himself,  who  has  travelled  some,  and  has  seen 
something  of  the  world,"  said  George. 

"  That  is  true ;  unless  in  his  travels  his  object  has  merely  been 
amusement,  and  in  this  he  has  wasted  the  time  and  money  required 
to  establish  himself  in  business.  Remember  that  our  youth  is  seed- 
time,  not  mere  play-time." 

"  Suppose  one  has  this  strong  desire  to  travel,  and  means  by  it  to 
improve  himself:  are  there  not  ways  in  which  he  can  -travel  without 
much  expense,  or  in  pursuit  of  his  business  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  Young  men  of  energy  and  business  address  sometimes  get  oc- 
cupation which  shall  take  them  from  place  to  place.  Others 
get  positions  as  tutors  in  families  going  abroad,  or  advertise,  or  in- 
quire privately,  for  situations  as  friends  and  companions  for  invalid 
or  elderly  people  who  are  to  make  a  tour.  Then  their  expenses  are 
paid  for  their  services :  they  see  all  the  sights  without  money 
cares." 

"  Many  young  ladies  look  for  these  places  as  governesses  in  fami- 
lies going  to  Europe,  or  as  companions  to  ladies  who  will  take  them 
travelling,"  suggested  Harriet. 

"  It  is  a  very  dangerous  place,  unless  the  girl  well  knows  the 
persons  with  whom  she  leaves  her  home  and  friends,  and  is  assured 
that  they  will  treat  her  in  a  Christian  manner.  One  young  American 
girl  going  thus  abroad,  offended  the  lady,  and  was  dismissed  almost 
penniless  in  London.  Ignorant  of  foreign  life,  terrified  at  the  dangers 
about  her,  with  no  home,  no  recommendations,  no  money  to  return 
to  America,  too  desperate  or  uninstructed  to  apply  to  our  consul  or 
minister,  she  threw  herself  from  London  bridge." 

"Then,"  said  Violet,  "one  of  the  things  that  we  girls  must  not 
do  is,  to  leave  home  with  people  who  may  forsake  us." 

"Yes;  before  you  venture  far  from  mother-guardianship,  know  well 
what  will  supply  its  place." 

"  I  think,"  remarked  Thomas,  "  that  young  men  often  go  off  on 
cheap  tours." 


THIHGS  NUT  TO  BE  DONE.  4b7 

"  It  is  done,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  Bayard  Taylor,  with 
great  success.  He  had  authorial  ability :  he  knew  where  he  could 
send  accounts  of  his  travels.  If  young  men  are  thoroughly  moral, 
well  versed  in  economy,  physically  very  strong,  and  are  not  ashamed 
of  stout  shoes,  a  rough  and  ready  suit,  and  the  pedestrian's  big  cane, 
they  may  get  on  very  well  in  such  a  tour  if  they  neglect  no  home 
duties  to  perform  it.  These  tourists  take  second-class  or  even 
steerage  passage.  They  carry  no  baggage  but  a  knapsack,  and 
when  they  land  in  a  foreign  country  they  foot  it :  choosing  plain 
lodgings  for  night  and  Sunday,  and  taking  their  dinners  in  a  simple 
wayside  luncheon.  If  they  are  acute,  and  observing,  and  discerning 
as  to  their  companions,  hot  falling  into  bad  company,  they  get  on 
very  well  in  these  trips.  Norman  McLeod  tells  us  how  he  was 
'  done  '  by  a  companion  on  such  an  excursion  :  lack  of  funds  caused 
Me  Leod  to  set  out  on  foot  from  his  university  in  Glasgow,  for  his 
northern  home.  He  met  a  lively  young  fellow  with  a  nice  tale  to 
tell,  who  effectually  did  McLeod  out  of  his  travelling  expenses. 
Norman  paid  ferriage,  meals,  lodging — the  airy  stranger  always  large 
in  promises  of  what  he  would  do  next  time — until  he  skipped  away 
early  one  morning,  and  left  McLeod  yet  far  from  home,  and  with 
only  sixpence  remaining  of  his  capital  of  twenty  shillings.  How- 
ever, he  was  in  his  native  land,  and  soon  meeting  a  neighbor  got 
home  comfortably.  Another  thing  that  I  wish  to  warn  you  of— 
after  warning  you  to  take  great  heed  to  what  acquaintances  you 
make  in  travelling — is,  take  great  heed  to  your  manners  in  travelling. 
As  soon  as  some  people  start  from  home,  they  consider  it  in  order  to 
put  on  their  most  selfish  and  boorish  behavior.  By  this  method  of 
conducting  ourselves  we  run  the  risk  of  being  always  remembered 
for  vulgarity  or  arrogance." 

"  I  have  heard  it  said  that  most  people  show  their  worst  side  on  a 
journey,"  added  John  Frederick. 

"And  this  is  a  great  pity,"  said  the  Stranger ;  "  for,  though  travel- 
ling has  a  certain  amount  of  pleasantness,  it  has  very  many  incom- 
modities  and  discomforts  connected  with  it,  and  all  people  should 


468  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

set  themselves  to  making  it  cheerful  and  pleasant  for  those  who  travel 
with  them,  even  for  strangers,  who  are  on  the  same  boat  or  train." 

"And  a  very  good  thing  some  people  make  of  this  being  agree- 
able," said  Peter.  "  General  Grant  once  met  a  very  pleasant  travel- 
ling companion:  a  stranger,  whom  he  found  to  be  a  lawyer,  and 
whose  name  and  State  the  General  remembered,  though  he  had  not 
even  asked  his  residence.  Some  while  after  an  attorney-general 
was  wanted,  and  General  Grant  fixed  his  mind  stubbornly  on  his 
travelling  companion,  and  insisted  on  hunting  him  up  and  giving 
him  the  position.  He  concluded  that  he  had  seen  excellent  traits  of 
character  in  this  congenial  traveller.  But  it  will  not  be  often  that 
attorney-generalships  go  begging  for  stray  pilgrims." 

"  Nevertheless,  there  is  a  lesson  in  the  incident,"  said  Dora. 

"  You  were  saying  lately,  sir,  that  property,  or  money,  was  one  of 
the  primary  ideas  of  our  civilization — was  one  of  the  hinges  whereon 
all  our  affairs  turned.  Let  us  have  some  thou  shalt  nots  regarding 
money,"  said  Peter. 

"  Some  people  seem  to  be  in  a  state  of  chronic  bankruptcy.  As 
boys,  they  spend  the  last  cent  of  their  pocket-money,  and  borrow 
where  they  can.  As  young  men,  with  their  first  salary,  they  are  con- 
tinually insolvent — the  income  is  absorbed  even  before  it  is  received. 
They  have  never  laid  to  heart  the  valuable  advice  given  by  the  uncle 
of  the  famous  Wilberforce :  '  Learn  how  to  do  three  things  wisely : 
save  wisely ;  spend  wisely ;  give  wisely.'  These  unhappy  beings 
heedlessly  buy  everything  that  they  fancy,  never  considering  whether 
they  need  it  or  can  go  without  it.  If  it  attracts  their  attention  for  a 
minute,  or  is  cheap,  or  seems  to  be  cheap,  they  get  it,  though  it  brings 
them  to  their  last  penny,  and  for  the  next  thing  that  they  crave,  or 
perhaps  really  need,  they  must  go  in  debt.  Next  to  these  rash 
purchases  comes  the  plan  of  losing  money.  These  born  bankrupts 
recklessly  lend  their  money  without  considering  whether  the  lending 
is  wise,  or  even  honest.  They  pull  out  a  handful  of  money,  and  drop 
some  as  they  pay  a  bill.  They  take  their  change  without  looking  at 
it,  and  so  get  wrong  change,  or  counterfeit  money ;  they  cheerily  go 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  469 

with  a  hole  in  their  pocket,  or  with  loose  money  which  rolls  over 
the  floor  when  they  pull  off  their  clothes  ;  or  they  toss  a  gold-piece 
into  an  open  box,  as  a  temptation  to  some  poor  servant,  for  whose 
crime  they  will  be  more  than  half  responsible." 

"  I  have  seen  fellows  exactly  like  that,"  said  Robert.  "  Their  con- 
duct is  childish  and  foolish  in  the  extreme :  it  shows  a  lack  of  manly 
judgment;  they  carry  out  these  trifling  traits  in  all  their  affairs. 
They  get  into  debt,  and  make  a  bad  name  for  not  settling  up  what 
they  owe.  No  one  respects  them,  or  has  a  respect  for  their  way  of 
doing  business." 

"And  so  we  come  to  the  shalt  nots  of  business,"  said  Samuel. 
"What  are  they?" 

"First:  never  go  hastily  into  business.  It  deserves  serious  con- 
sideration. Look  at  it  on  all  sides,  and  in  all  lights,  before  you 
undertake  anything.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  talked  into  any 
operation  by  some  fluent  swindler,  who  has  only  his  own  gain  in  pros- 
pect, which  gain  will  consist  in  fleecing  you.  If  such  an  one  pro- 
poses an  affair  to  you,  keep  carefully  out  of  the  reach  of  his  tongue 
for  a  few  days,  until  you  have  had  time  to  talk  with  unprejudiced 
people,  and  to  consider  the  matter  for  yourself. 

"  Next:  if  you  are  hasty  in  business,  you  will  get  yourself  into  diffi- 
culties where  you  will  lose  your  commercial  integrity.  Now  integ- 
rity— saying  what  you  mean  and  sticking  to  it — is  your  best  business 
capital ;  if  you  lose  that,  you  are  bankrupt,  indeed.  One  hundred 
cents  to  a  dollar  is  sound  ortho.doxy  in  business-religion. 

"  Therefore,  in  the  next  place,  never  enter  into  a  business  of  which 
you  are  ignorant.  Because  ignorance  will  beget  ill-success,  and  ill- 
success  will  have  a  progeny  of  broken  bargains,  and  you  will  culmi- 
nate miserably  at  twenty  cents  on  the  dollar,  or  may  be  less.  Don't 
set  up  as  a  real-estate  broker,  when  you  know  nothing  of  real  estate 
except  the  tilling  of  a  potato-field ;  don't  buy  a  farm  and  hope  to 
make  a  fortune  out  of  it,  when  your  acquaintance  with  farming  is 
limited  to  what  you  learned  in  square  measure — '  272^  square  feet 
make  one  perch  ;  160  perches  make  one  acre.' 


470  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"If  you  do  not  understand  your  business,  you  will  fail  in  it;  if 
you  fail,  you  will  harm  some  one  else,  for  no  man  can  stand  and 
fall  alone.  Therefore,  learn  your  business,  whatever  it  is.  Remem- 
ber what  I  have  so  often  told  you,  avoid  haste.  Haste  is  one  of  the 
most  destructive  principles  in  our  American  life.  More  sermons 
than  one,  and  very  practical  sermons  too,  could  be  preached  on  these 
texts :  '  He  that  hasteth  to  be  rich  hath  an  evil  eye,  and  considereth 
not  that  poverty  shall  come  upon  him ; '  and  '  He  that  will  be  rich 
falleth  into  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which 
drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition.'  When  our  ministers 
will  take  such  every-day  texts  as  these,  and  preach  to  young  men 
squarely  and  frankly,  laying  down  the  religion  of  business  principles, 
we  shall  have  honester  men,  less  defalcations,  a  better  understanding 
of  what  the  gospel  requires  of  a  man,  even  when  he  has  got  so  far 
from  his  church  door  as  to  have  reached  Wall  street." 

"  It  has  just  struck  me,"  said  Peter,  "that  about  what  you  said  of 
hasty  marriage  and  hasty  choice  there  might  apply  to  hastily-formed 
business  partnerships.  Men  often  take  partners  of  whom  they  know 
little,  and  they  are  led  by  them  into  extravagances,  or  dishonesties, 
or  speculations." 

"  You  are  right,  Peter :  nothing  requires  more  careful  considera- 
tion than  the  choice  of  a  business  partner.  If  a  man's  principles  are 
not  coincident  with  ours,  if  he  lacks  stability,  uprightness,  discretion, 
energy,  knowledge,  we  had  far  better  not  take  him  as  a  partner." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  say  of  speculation  in  business?"  asked  Peter. 

"  Speculation  becomes  a  dangerous  mania.  It  is  a  kind  of  busi- 
ness gambling  often,  and  is  never  satisfied.  It  is  one  of  the  Leech's 
daughters,  who  always  cry,  '  Give,  give.'  Now  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  money  and  property  in  the  world,  and  only  a  certain 
amount.  Speculation  does  not  increase  the  aggregate  of  property ; 
it  changes  the  hands  that  hold  it.  Manufactures,  commerce,  opening 
of  new  lands,  mining,  and  especially  agriculture,  create  capital;  they 
increase  commodities  that  have  real  values.  In  these  enterprises 
there  is  a  certain  amount  of  speculation  involved ;  and  where  there  is 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  471 

nothing  that  may  verge  on  speculation,  great  enterprises  are  impos- 
sible. There  must  be  some  risk  in  grand  undertakings.  If  high 
interest  means  bad  security,  perfect  security,  on  the  other  hand, 
means  investment  in  established  undertakings,  not  in  those  under- 
takings that  have  their  fortunes  to  make.  But  as  the  race  increases, 
its  resources  must  have  new  developments,  and  new  fortunes  must 
be  made  by  new  means.  The  business  man  is  not  bound  to  eschew 
all  speculations,  but  he  should  do  the  most  of  his  business  in  very 
safe  lines,  and  should  repudiate  all  speculations  that  concern  merely 
the  abnormal  direction  and  diverting  of  existing  capital,  and  not  the 
creation  of  fresh  capital  by  new  industries.  As  I  told  you,  there  is 
a  certain  amount  of  capital,  and  where  a  man  enters  into  speculations 
which  mean  that  by  the  use  of  five  dollars  he  shall  buy  up  fifty, 
or  by  turning  over  ten  thousand  he  shall  make  a  million,  he  merely 
means  to  take  money  from  many  who  shall  get  for  it  no  equivalent, 
and  direct  it  to  himself,  who  gave  for  it  no  adequate  exchange.  This 
is  done  by  a  fictitious  increase  and  decrease  of  values,  and  this  is 
effected  by  absolute  dishonesty,  though  a  dishonesty  that  tries  to 
keep  out  of  the  clutches  of  human  law,  ignoring  the  inevitable  but 
possibly  distant  reckonings  of  the  Divine  Law. 

"  Speculation  is  a  mania.  In  many  years  it  seems  to  rise  to  a 
singular  insanity.  The  most  extraordinary  height  of  speculation- 
phrensy  was  reached  from  1711  to  1721.  The  South  Sea  bubble 
has  always  remained  a  name  for  mad  ventures.  This  scheme  was 
set  on  foot  by  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  incorporating  for  a  monopoly  of 
South  Sea  trade  certain  London  merchants.  Though  the  only 
ship  sent  out  was  in  I/I/,  extravagant  ideas  spread  of  the  wealth  to 
be  gained.  At:  this  time  John  Law,  in  Paris,  devised  the  Mississippi 
scheme,  for  developing  the  supposed  mineral  wealth  of  Louisiana. 
Paris  was  in  a  furore,  the  streets  were  blockaded  by  people  of  all 
classes,  ladies,  nobles,  servants,  artisans,  hundreds  of  thousands 
struggling  to  reach  Law's  presence  and  obtain  shares.  The  influx 
of  people  was  such,  that  Paris  could  not  accommodate  them; 
they  lodged  in  garrets,  stables,  cellars,  kitchens,  waiting  their  turn  to 


472  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

see  the  new  Midas,  whose  touch  would  make  of  their  copper  and  silver 
— gold.  Many  invested  their  all  in  this  fatal  scheme.  In  1720  Law's 
whole  speculation  collapsed,  he  fled  the  country,  and  a  howl  of  dis- 
may and  anguish  went  up,  when  his  dupes  found  that  shares  bought 
for  five  hundred  lires  would  not  bring  twenty-four.  The  news  of 
tfft  Mississippi  scheme  disaster  went  to  London  and  caused  holders 
of  South  Sea  stock  to  tremble,  but  the  directors  encouraged  the 
people  to  renewed  confidence.  Shares  rose  steadily.  On  June  ist 
a  share  was  worth  890,  but  on  June  3d  had  unaccountably  fallen  to 
640,  and  in  a  few  da.ys  brought  nothing !  Ruin  was  on  every  hand. 
Thousands  were  desperate ;  a  frantic  mob  raved  in  the  streets.  It 
was  shown  that  the  noble  directors  of  the  bubble  had  been  bribed, 
and  fictitious  stock  created.  The  Government  interfered  to  aid  in 
the  settlement,  and  finally  succeeded  in  giving  the  dupes  33  per 
cent,  of  their  original  investments.  So  rose  and  perished  within  ten 
years  two  of  the  most  gigantic  frauds  that  ever  convulsed  the  civil- 
ized world." 

"  Do  you  consider  speculation  an  especially  American  passion  ?  Is 
there  more  of  it  here,  than  in  other  countries?"  asked  Catherine. 

"  England  is  by  no  means  exempt  from  this  mania ;  other  nations 
share  it,  but  possibly  we  exceed  all.  Its  opposite  is  French  thrift." 

"And  how  is  that  thrift  exhibited  ?  Describe  it,  as  a  companion 
picture  to  the  South  Sea  bubble,"  said  Harriet. 

"  There  is  no  country  that  exceeds  France  in  economy,  and  in  the 
universality  of  money-saving.  Almost  every  Frenchman,  no  matter 
how  small  his  gains,  saves  something.  He  invests  with  great  care 
his  little  savings,  and  from  them  derives  an  income,  apart  from  what 
he  gets  by  continued  daily  labor.  Every  small  shop-keeper,  every 
domestic  servant,  every  artisan,  every  mechanic,  every  clerk,  knows 
that  he  is  expected  to  save  something,  and  as  a  rule  he  does  save. 
In  England  and  America,  we  talk  of  laying  by  for  old  age;  the  money 
is  to  be  saved  up  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  that  one  may  reach 
a  resting  time,  and  live  on  what  is  laid  by.  No  such  flattering 
unction  does  the  thrifty  Frenchman  lay  to  his  soul.  He  saves 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  473 

because  this  is  part  of  his  country's  creed,  because  saving  was  incul- 
cated in  all  his  early  training,  because  it  is  second- nature,  rooted 
habit,  highest  satisfaction,  to  save.  If  he  had  an  abundance  for  old 
age,  he  would  go  right  on  and  save  still ;  if  he  had  no  children,  he 
would  save  because  he  likes  it,  considers  it  sensible  and  honorable, 
and  saving  is  the  fashion.  When  he  gets  old  he  still  is  industrious, 
because  he  sees  no  pleasure  in  being  idle,  and  he  still  saves,  because 
he  does  not  know  how  to  live  on  any  other  terms.  There  are  many 
domestic  servants  in  France  who  have  savings  amounting  from  two 
to  twenty  thousand  dollars,  invested  at  from  three  to  five  per  cent., 
the  principal  yearly  being  increased  by  the  interest,  and  by  new 
economies.  This  saving  is  an  endless  process.  Parents  save  for 
their  children;  children  save  for  themselves  and  for  their  posterity. 
As  soon  as  the  child  appears  in  the  cradle,  his  parents  begin  saving 
for  him;  they  lay  by  some  little  nucleus  of  a  future  inheritance,  some 
centre  of  the  crystallization  of  his  increasing  fortune." 

"  But,"  said  Catherine,  "  I  think  there  is  a  bad  as  well  as  a  good 
side  to  all  this.  While  your  sketch  of  a  speculative  furore  reminds  us 
of  earthquakes  tearing  everything  to  pieces,' this  exhibit  of  intense 
unending  economies  hints  of  the  work  of  white  ants,  which  honey- 
comb and  eat  out  the  foundations.  It  may  undermine  liberality  and 
greatness,  until  all  will  collapse  unexpectedly  into  dust." 

"  That  is  a  very  just  thought,  Catherine.  This  too  intense  devotion 
to  small  economies  develops  a  narrow  type  of  character.  It  may  be 
favorable  in  preventing  individual  pauperism,  and  unfavorable  as 
limiting  the  final  development  of  national  prosperity  which  in  its 
beginning  it  promotes.  The  mind  of  the  community  being  absorbed 
too  much  in  littles,  has  not  room  for  those  wider  views  which  make 
men  and  nations  great.  Sometimes  one  saves  so  much  money  that 
he  makes  less.  A  miser  in  a  most  penurious,  niggardly,  grasping 
life,  may  save  up  by  atoms  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  while  by 
liberal  dealing,  and  wise  investments,  he  might  have  acquired  a  mil- 
lion, and  have  done  a  deal  of  good  with  it.  A  miser  never  does  any 
good  with  his  savings ;  but  the  energetic  man  of  business,  whose 


474  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

knowledge  and  interests  have  been  broadened  by  occupation  in  great 
affairs,  is  often  a  large  benefactor  of  the  human  race.  Between  over- 
thrift  and  speculation  is  a  just  mean,  which  the  reasonable  business 
man  will  seek  to  attain.  This  mean  permits  energy,  generosity, 
enterprise,  high  aims,  and  scrupulous  honesty.  It  trenches  on  no 
man's  right,  and,  ennobling  the  individual,  it  aids  the  community." 

"  Why  is  it,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  we  are  a  nation  of  speculators  ? 
There  must  be  something  in  our  circumstances,  or  education,  as  a 
people  that  produces  this  spirit." 

"  I  think,  Samuel,  that  you  have  touched  the  root  of  the  matter. 
There  seems  to  me  an  error  in  our  style  of  education :  an  error  that 
produces  undue  ambition,  and  this  restlessness  that  in  business  bursts 
forth  in  new  South  Sea  Bubbles." 

"And  what  is  that  error  ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  One  set  of  very  important  words  has  been  ignored  in  our  educa- 
tion," said  the  Stranger.  "  We  are  barely  taught  to  spell  and  define 
them,  and  then  they  are  hastily  shuffled  out  of  the  way.  They  are 
such  words  as  '  humility,'  '  contentment,'  '  goodness,'  '  duty.'  In 
place  of  them  we  have  been  given  the  words  '  sublime,'  '  famous,' 
'  emotional,'  '  ambitious.'  Our  American  idea  is  to  despise  the  plain, 
the  simple,  the  common,  and  rush  after  what  is  brilliant  and  unusual. 
Such  homely  birds  as  doves,  who  brood  in  quiet  places,  and  robins, 
familiar  as  at  kitchen  doorways,  are  not  for  us ;  our  idea  of  a  bird  is  a 
spread-eagle,  rushing  with  a  shriek  to  the  sun  and  shaking  in  his 
claws  thunderbolts  and  arrows  !  " 

The  young  people  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"  Tell  me,  is  it  not  so  ?  "  demanded  the  Stranger.  "  When  you 
learned  the  Beatitudes  how  was  it?  Did  the  virtues  there  com- 
mended seem  desirable  to  you  ?  Meekness,  poverty,  mourning, 
mercy,  peacefulness,  were  they  at  all  the  key-note  of  your  education  ? 
Were  these  the  qualities  commended  by  your  teachers  and  in  your 
reading-books  ?  You  might  consider  the  purity  worth  having  if  it 
were  very  dazzling,  and  the  martyr-spirit  if  it  met  martyr-renown  ;  but 
has  not  all  your  education  taught  you  to  aspire  madly  after  the 


THINGS  NOT  TO   BE  DONE.  475 

'  glorious/  the  '  heroic  ?  '  You  have  all  been  spouting  Excelsior,  and 
Psalms  of  Life,  and  Bozzaris,  and  Casablanca,  until  you  have  for- 
gotten that  the  Lord  makes  a  many  man  to  hoe  corn  and  cotton 
and  fashion  ploughs,  and  a  many  woman  to  mend  and  turn  old 
clothes,  and  to  wash  little  faces  and  hands  and  pack  little  dinner- 
baskets.  But  all  this  is  too  common-place  for  our  national  spirit. 
People  who  do  these  things  are  nobodies,  and  masses,  and  cumberers 
of  the  ground  !  Did  you  ever  consider  that  the  Lord  made  far  more 
blades  of  grass  than  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  that  whe'n  all  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon  have  perished  the  grass  will  still  cover  the  earth  for  the 
blessing  of  man  and  beast?  " 

"  I  do  not  quite  understand  you,"  said  Catherine.  "  Do  you  con- 
sider that  all  this  stimulating  of  ambition  is  wrong?" 

"  Yes,  I  think  we  have  ambition  enough,  and  it  does  not  need 
stimulating.  Our  climate,  our  history,  and  the  varied  admixture  of 
our  blood,  have  combined  to  make  us  Americans  a  nervous,  excit- 
able, emotional  people.  Now  instead  of  feeding  our  children  and 
youth  on  such  mental  confectionery,  high-spiced  wines,  and  fruit- 
cake, as  they  have  been  getting,  cultivating  the  emotional,  when 
they  have  too  much  of  that  already,  the  aim  of  education  should 
have  been  to  cultivate  simplicity,  steadfastness,  thoroughness,  con- 
tentment. A  mother  once  wrote  me,  '  I  do  not  like  that  word 
duty:  it  is  so  cold  and  hard  and  legal ;  we  say  nothing  about  it  in 
our  family;  all  we  speak  of  as  law  is  love.'  She  thought  that  a  very 
pretty  sentiment.  So  it  was;  but  she  had  left  out  of  her  family 
ethics,  the  strong  foundation  principle." 

"  Well,  how  did  it  work  ?  "  asked  Violet. 

"  Her  children  were  nice  children — enthusiastic,  morbid,  over- 
emotional,  nervous,  physically  frail,  and  almost  lacking  in  self- 
control,  by  which  only  sound  physical  and  mental  health  can  be 
obtained." 

"  But  you  would  not  have  the  idea  of  love  ignored  ?  "  said  Dora. 

"  By  no  means.  It  is  a  mainspring  in  family  and  social  life,  but 
duty  is  its  true  yoke-fellow.  God  hath  joined  these  two  together, 


476  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

let  not  man  put  them  asunder.     I  saw  once  two  little  girls  in  a  com- 
pany ;  they  came  together ;  were  dressed  nearly  alike ;  kept  together. 

"  'Are  those  two  sisters  ? '  asked  a  lady. 

" '  They  are  not  even  related,'  I  replied. 

" '  How  did  you  know  ?  '  asked  some  one ;  '  you  are  an  entire 
stranger.' 

" '  I  saw/  I  answered,  '  that  they  had  been  trained  on  totally  dif- 
ferent principles.  One  is  a  creature  entirely  of  feeling — emotion  is 
her  life.  The  other  is  ruled  by  good  judgment,  and  is  capable  of 
iron  self-control.' 

"  '  But  emotion  is  so  sweet',  said  one. 

" '  You  will  see  that  the  child  trained  on  other  principles  will  give 
far  less  trouble,  and  be  far  more  happy.' 

"  '  But  such  training  suggests  severity  and  hardness.' 

" '  On  the  contrary,  I  fancy,  it  has  embraced  infinitely  less  error, 
reproof,  correction,  than  the  other,  for  less  was  daily  needed.' 

"  By  accident,  I  met  these  two  children  next  day  in  a  dentist's ; 
first  came  Emotion.  Permitted  all  her  life  to  fall  into  excitements 
rather  than  to  measure  duties,  she  got  into  a  state  of  terror ;  she 
trembled  and  wept ;  she  could  not  have  her  tooth  drawn.  She  wasted- 
the  dentist's  time.  Her  mother  implored,  bribed.  '  My  darling, 
you  pain  your  mamma ;  you  do  not  love  me.' 

"'Yes,  I  do  love  you.  O,  don't  say  that,  mamma!'  and  her 
paroxysms  redoubled ;  '  I  will  have  it  out — but — oh,  I  cannot,  I  can- 
not ! '  and  so  for  nearly  an  hour,  advancing,  retreating,  cajoled, 
protesting. 

"  The  other  child  came  in. 

"  '  Please  draw  this  tooth  as  promptly  as  possible.  Take  your  place 
in  the  chair,  dearie,'  said  the  mother,  unhesitatingly. 

"'Will  it  hurt  much?'  asked  the  child,  promptly  obeying. 

" '  Probably  for  a  moment.  We  must  think  what  will  be  best 
for  all  your  life.  You  will  suffer  badly  and  look  badly  if  that  tooth 
is  kept  in,'  and  in  five  minutes  the  affair  was  over,  and  she  was 
cheerfully  going  away  with  her  mother. 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  47T 

"Now  this  was  not  the  result  of  a  'happy  constitution}  but  of  a 
*  happy  training.'  We  seem  to  have  wandered  from  our  theme,  but 
this  little  fact  is  a  key  to  a  great  amount  of  domestic  education.  In 
things  moral  and  physical,  the  emotional,  ambitious,  and  grasping, 
have  been  cultivated.  If  a  child  is  at  all  bright,  teachers  urge  him 
to  be  somebody,  and  set  before  him  fame,  money,  honor,  as  the  true 
and  only  prizes  in  life;  and  these  to  be  sought,  not  by  doing  well 
and  contentedly  what  God  set  us  to  do,  but  by  rushing  into  a 
profession,  or  a  mad  strife  for  wealth,  as  if  in  these  only  lay  results 
worth  reaching.  Did  you  ever  think  of  the  tone  of  our  juvenile 
literature  ?  Every  story  is  of  boy  or  girl  who  performs  the  most 
wonderful  exploits,  makes  a  dazzling  impression,  wins  a  fortune. 
Even  our  better  class  of  literature  sets  before  our  youth  only  the 
arriving  at  great  honor  and  emolument — never  the  simply  and  sin- 
cerely filling  of  those  humble,  unnoticed  places  for  which  God  de- 
signed nearly  all  men  and  women  that  ever  were  born.  'Aim  high,' 
is  the  watchword  of  our  schools.  What  do  they  mean  by  it?  It  is 
not  to  aim  as  high  as  to  '  please  God  perfectly,'  and  to  do  the  work 
well  that  he  set  for  us,  but  it  is  to  get  some  great  place  before  men. 
'Be  something,'  'be  something,' cry  the  teachers;  but  do  they  ever 
mean  that  one  is  to  be  a  good  stone-mason;  a  competent  cook;  an 
honest  shoemaker  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Samuel,  "  it  means  that  we  are  to  be  doctors  or  lawyers, 
or  president  of  something,  whether  of  a  bank,  or  a  railroad,  or  of  the 
United  States.  We  are  to  be  artists,  editors,  authors — not  common 
folks." 

"  But,  after  all,  most  of  us  must  be  common  folk,"  said  Catherine; 
"  that  doom  is  on  us,  and  we  grumble,  and  feel  restless  all  our  lives, 
because  we  were  not  '  somebody '  as  we  were  bidden  to  be." 

"  Yes,  you  are  right,"  said  Robert,  "and  in  struggling  to  aim  high, 
and  '  be  somebody,'  we  boys  want  to  speculate,  and  rush  into  risky 
trade  to  get  a  fortune  quickly ;  and  we  feel  that  as  soon  as  we  are  in 
business,  we  must  scheme  in  politics,  to  get  something,  whether  a 
country  post-office,  or  a  seat  in  Legislature.  And  the  girls — well, 


478  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

they  feel  that  they  must  marry  rich  men,  to  have  fine  houses  and  fine 
gowns ;  and  then  there  is  this  craze  for  marrying  foreign  lords  and 
counts,  like  the  girls  in  the  stories,  instead  of  plain,  every-day  Amer- 
ican merchants  or  mechanics." 

"  The  parents  are  as  much  to  blame  as  the  teachers,"  said  Henry. 
"  In  fact,  the  teachers  have  been  pushed  into  their  style  of  teach- 
ing by  the  ambition  of  the  parents.  The  thing  is  popular ;  that  is 
the  best  teacher  who  tells  all  the  boys  that  they  can  be  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  secretaries  of  State,  generals,  millionaires  ;  all  the 
girls  that  they  can  be  Mrs.  Brownings,  Rosa  Bonheurs,  George 
Eliots,  Charlotte  Cushmans." 

"And  if  all  the  world  were  distributed  in  this  way,  where  would 
these  famous  creatures  find  admirers,  audience,  supporters,  bread  to 
eat,  or  raiment  to  put  on  ?  "  said  Violet 

"  Well,  you  cannot  deny,"  remarked  Harriet,  "  that  most  parents 
say  that  they  want  their  children  '  to  be  better  off  than  they  were,' 
4  not  work  so  hard,'  'have  an  easier  time/  'make  more  of  themselves.' 
Farmers  want  their  sons  to  be  professional  men,  calling  that  somebody ', 
and  farmers'  wives  do  not  want  their  girls  to  marry  farmers :  they  say 
they  will  not  have  them  drudges  all  their  lives." 

"  Without  considering  that  a  half-bred,  half-capable  professional 
man  must  lead  a  life  of  deceit  and  imposture  upon  the  community, 
whether  he  means  to  do  so  or  not.  While  he  might  have  been 
raising  honest  beets  and  pumpkins,  or  making  honest  horse-shoes." 

"  I  do  not  know  what  you  are  going  to  do  about  it,"  laughed 
Dora ;  "  these  ideas  are  spread  over  all  the  country.  The  parents  go 
to  meeting  and  sing : 

" '  Shall  I  be  carried  to  the  skies 
On  flowery  beds  of  ease, 

and  are  quite  willing  to  say  they  shall  not.  But  they  mean  to  com- 
pass those  '  flowery  beds  of  ease  '  for  their  children,  if  they  can." 

"  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  be  done  about  it,  except  each  in  our 
place  do  the  best  we  can  to  exalt  the  simple,  the  true,  the  perse- 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  479 

vering,  and  not  try  to  cross  the  intentions  of  Providence  by  urging 
folks  to  be  what  he  never  called  them  to  be." 

"Still/perhaps,  by  this  change,  we  shall  smother  somewhere  real 
greatness,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"  I  told  you  long  ago,  John  Frederick,  that  genius  like  murder 
will  out.  There  will  need  no  exorcisms  to  evoke  it  You  cannot 
strangle  songs  in  the  throats  of  Miltons,  nor  keep  Cromwells  in 
swaddling  bands,  nor  bind  Samsons  with  green  withs.  When  God 
wanted  a  prophet  in  Amos  of  Tekoa;  he  called  him  loudly  enough  to 
bring  him  from  the  flock,  and  the  herd,  and  the  sycamore  fruit.  And 
when  he  raised  up  a  singer  among  the  Saxons,  in  Caedmon  the 
herdman,  he  set  him  to  singing  of  the  Origin  of  Things  Created,  in  a 
voice  that  has  rolled  through  twelve  hundred  years." 

"  What  are  we  to  aim  at  in  our  education,  then  ?"  said  Dora. 

"At  righteousness,  thoroughness,  earnestness,  contentment,  and 
moving  straight  on  as  Heaven  shows  a  way  to  you.  You  are  to 
avoid  too  high  esteem  for  yourselves,  too  low  esteem  for  common 
things,  and  all  running  before  the  face  of  Providence.  But  we  have 
talked  enough  about  education.  Cultivate  simplicity,  and  don't  go 
wild  in  ambition  and  greed." 

"  Give  us  some  of  the  shall  nots  of  amusements,  or  fun,  "said  Harriet 

"I  must  be  more  concise.  Don't  amuse  yourself  with  any  dan- 
gerotts  fun.  I  read  this  sensible  paragraph  in  a  paper  lately:  'A 
letter  came  to  us,  asking  if  there  were  any  good-looking  cadets 
at  West  Point,  and  if  they  were  allowed  to  correspond  with  whoever 
they  pleased.  It  was  signed  "A  Fun-Loving  Girl."  No  doubt  the 
letter  was  written  in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  which  meant  no  harm.  But 
we  take  occasion  by  it  to  warn  all  young  ladies  how  they  indulge 
their  love  of  dangerous  fun.'  Never  in  amusement  pass  the  limit  of 
proper  reserve  and  nice  purity  and  self-respect.  Don't  enter  into 
rollicking  fun.  Don't  demand  pleasures  of  a  highly  exciting  nature, 
and  that  embrace  the  chances  of  gambling.  Many  young  fellows 
think  that  gambling  is  a  sure  and  easy  way  to  get  money,  and  that 
its  moral  objections  are  its  only  objections.  Never  were  they  more 


480  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

mistaken.  The  experience  of  gamblers  proves  the  very  reverse. 
John  Morrissey  was  one  of  the  most  noted  gamblers ;  he  kept  a 
regular  gambler's  palace,  and  in  his  will  he  made  large  bequests. 
Yet,  it  is  said,  that  when  his  estate  was  settled,  his  creditors  got  but 
twenty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  the  bequests  were  wholly  unpaid. 
This  is  the  statement  of  a  leading  newspaper.  The  man  himself 
seemed  mistaken  as  to  the  profit  and  loss  of  his  favorite  amuse- 
ment. 

"  Don't  in  your  amusements  give  fair  names  to  foul  actions,  tkat 
those  who  start  at  first  at  real  vice  may  be  led  at  last  to  practise  its 
lessons  under  the  disguise  of  virtue. 

"  Don't  idle  for  an  amusement.  What  says  Ovid  ?  '  Do  you  ask 
me  why  was  yEgisthus  an  adulterer?  The  cause  was  self-evident; 
he  was  an  idler.' 

"  But  now  I  shall  give  you  a  few  shalt  nots  as  to  your  habits.  The 
Spectator  says :  'A  man's  first  care  should  be  to  avoid  the  reproaches 
of  his  own  heart ;  his  next,  to  escape  the  censures  of  the  world.  A 
man  is  more  sure  of  his  conduct,  when  the  verdict  which  he  passes 
upon  his  own  behavior  is  thus  warranted  and  confirmed  by  the  opin- 
ion of  all  that  know  him.' 

"  Make  a  habit  of  geniality  and  benevolence.  Well  is  it  said, 
'  Thou  canst  not  know  in  which  of  the  many  homes '  thou  passest 
daily,  a  future  benefactor  may  not  have  been  reared  for  thee.  Leave 
nought  unnoticed  that  lies  in  thy  path.' 

"Avoid  the  formation  of  bad  habits.  Take  warning  by  the  famous 
genius  and  poet  Coleridge.  Addicted  to  opium  and  brandy,  he 
wrote :  '  I  used  to  think  the  text  in  St.  James,  "  that  he  who  offends 
in  one  point  offends  in  all,"  was  very  harsh.  But  now  I  feel  the 
awful,  the  tremendous  truth  of  it.  In  that  one  crime  of  opium,  of  what 
crime  have  not  I  myself  been  guilty  ?  Ingratitude  to  my  Maker  and 
to  my  benefactors  ;  injustice  and  unnatural  cruelty  to  my  poor  chil- 
dren— breach  of  my  word!' 

"  Never  make  a  habit  of  carrying  fire-arms  and  daggers.  Theif 
very  possession  is  a  temptation  and  a  provocative  of  hasty  conduct 


THINGS  NOT  TO  BE  DONE.  481 

More  than  once  has  the  community  been  horrified  at  the  spectacle 
of  a  mere  boy  flying  red-handed,  a  murderer,  from  the  bleeding  body 
of  some  boy  companion.  The  carrying  of  arms  of  this  kind  is  il- 
legal, it  is  brutalizing,  it  familiarizes  a  youth's  mind  with  ideas  of 
violence,  it  makes  him  a  bully,  it  tempts  him  to  ignore  the  wishes 
and  rights  of  others. 

"  Consider  what  you  are  worth,  every  lass  and  lad  of  you.  The 
cost  of  raising  you  and  educating  you  for  eighteen  years,  in  a  plain 
and  simple  way,  is  five  thousand  dollars,  as  has  been  calculated  by 
an  adept  in  statistics.  Every  ignorant  criminal  youth  costs  five 
thousand,  on  a  low  average,  to  the  State.  Now,  if,  being  trained  at 
an  expense  of  five  thousand  dollars,  you  cultivate  evil  habits,  and 
become  vicious,  you  will  in  your  criminal  career  cost  five  thousand 
more,  and  the  community  will  be  ten  thousand  dollars  out  of  pocket 
by  you.  Add  to  that,  by  a  very  low  calculation,  five  thousand  dollars, 
which  as  an  upright,  industrious  citizen  you  should  have  been  worth  to 
the  community,  and  the  public  loses  by  your  iniquity,  at  the  very 
least,  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  But  here  is  not  a  sum  total.  For 
your  example,  the  endless  ramifications  of  your  influence  produce 
more  waste  and  expense ;  there  is  a  great  item  in  the  shape  of  moral 
degradation  to  be  considered;  and  lastly,  that  problem  in  values 
which  the  Bible  itself  never  ventured  to  solve,  THE  WORTH  OF  A  SOUL. 
All  these  considerations  urge  you  to  look  warily  to  the  habits  and 
opinions  which  you  are  forming.  Measure  by  your  immortal  worth 
the  possible  extent  of  immortal  loss." 
31 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 
THE  WORLD'S  WEDDING-DAY. 

OW,"  said  Thomas,  "  we  shall  have  our  long- 
promised  talk  about  marriage,  ceremonies,  trous- 
seau— all  that  concerns  weddings." 

"  I'm  afraid  it  will  be  very  stupid,"  said  Violet. 
"And  not  at  all  useful,"  added  Catherine. 
*"  Why,  young  ladies !     What  ever  can  you  mean  !  "  cried  John 
Frederick,  in  pretended  astonishment. 

"  We  mean  just  this,"  said  Violet,  "  we  know  all  about  it ;  we  have 
seen  weddings,  and  read  about  them,  and  heard  about  them,  all  our 
lives.  There's  nothing  new  in  the  suBject." 

"And  why  lay  down  rules,  or  make  explanations,"  added  Catherine, 
"when  in  the  end  we  must  be  governed  by  circumstances?  Take 
the  matter  of  trousseau  and  presents :  we  shall  have  just  what  our 
parents  and  friends  choose;  we  shall  be  married  by  Quaker,  Presby- 
terian, Episcopalian,  or  civil  service,  just  as  circumstances  and  our 
family  creeds  dictate.  The  day,  the  hour,  the  manner,  the  amount 
of  display,  will  all  depend  on  our  position,  prospects,  preferences  at 
the  time.  The  cards(  and  the  invitations  and  the  notice  will  be  at 
the  mercy  of  the  printers,  and  the  fashion  of  the  year  will  govern 
our  dress.  As  for  certain  ordinary  facts,  such  as  on  which  side  of 
the  groom  the  bride  shall  stand,  which  hand  she  shall  give  him,  and 
that  she  shall  make  some  response  when  spoken  to,  we  all  know  with- 
out telling.  If  we  fear  that  we  shall  be  awkward,  we  can  do  a  little 
private  practising." 

"  Now  you  are  all  bound  to  be  perverse,"  said  Samuel ;  "  but  we 
(482) 


THE    WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  483 

have  heard  about  flirting,  courtship,  divorces:  it  is  not  fair  that  mar- 
riage shall  be  ignored." 

"  I  propose,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  to  tell  you  something  about  the 
marriage  customs  of  all  countries  and  ages.  I  think  that  in  this  dis- 
cussion you  will  find  things  new,  strange,  and  entertaining,  if  you 
will  be  pleased  to  hear  it." 

"  O,  we  will  hear  it,"  said  the  young  ladies,  who  were  now  molli- 
fied, having  expressed  their  minds. 

"  I  will  then  begin  by  saying,  what  you  will  naturally  expect  to 
hear,  that  elegance,  refinement,  and  kindliness,  in  marriage  customs, 
is  in  proportion  to  a  nation's  civilization.  The  coarsest,  most  brutal, 
and  degrading  manners  in  regard  to  matrimony  exist  among  the 
Hottentots  of  Africa  and  the  Australian  natives,  two  races  the  lowest 
in  the  series  of  humanity,  being  each  notable  for  physical  and  mental 
inferiority.  As  we  ascend  in  the  scale  of  cultivation,  we  perceive  a 
gradual  rise  in  the  views  concerning  the  marriage  contract — advanc- 
ing through  Hindoos,  Chinese,  Turks,  Tartar  tribes,  Scandinavians, 
Russians,  and  then  Germans,  French,  English  peoples.  And  in 
these  highly  enlightened  nations  the  marriage  ceremonies  and  attend- 
ant customs  have  been  going  through  a  long  process  of  refining. 
With  the  wedding  of  George  the  Third  many  foolish  and  vulgar  man- 
ners passed  out  of  fashion.  Even  now,  in  England  and  America, 
you  will  notice  that  in  rude,  uncultivated  districts,  marriages  are  con- 
ducted very  differently  from  what  is  etiquette  in  more  elevated  circles. 
Noise,  practical  jokes,  serenades,  and  chivaris  wait  upon  weddings  in 
some  localities,  while  they  would  in  other  places  be  considered  a 
breach  of  peace  and  decency. 

"  Except  among  the  most  ignorant  and  degraded  tribes,  certain 
objects  have  always  been  associated  with  marriage,  and  have  had  a 
part  in  the  marriage  ceremony.  These  are  rings,  flowers,  fruit,  wines, 
glass,  money,  presents,  shoes,  veils,  perfumes. 

"  Days,  months,  questions  of  age,  ceremonies,  music,  are  also  in- 
teresting topics  under  our  general  theme.  Add  to  these  marriages 
by  proxy,  forbidden  marriages,  taxed  marriages,  morganatic  mar- 


484  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

riages,  and  you  will  see  that  we  have  a  very  wide  subject,  and  one 
deeply  interesting." 

"Why,  I  never  thought  of  all  those  things  belonging  to  marriage 
ceremonies  particularly,"  said  Dora.  "Glass!  shoes!  Why  any 
one  dresses  by  a  glass,  and  wears  shoes  at  any  time." 

"  You  are  to  consider  that,  as  associated  with  the  wedding  cere- 
mony, these  things  had  a  peculiar  significance.  I  propose  to  tell 
you  how  they  were  used  and  what  they  meant,  and  afterwards  I  will 
describe  some  of  the  most  peculiar  marriage  customs. 

"Almost  the  first  thing  which  you  will  connect  with  marriage  will 
be  the  ring,  now  almost  universally  worn  by  married  women,  and 
enjoined  to  be  used  as  part  of  the  marriage  ritual  in  some  churches. 
It  is  not  certain  that  wedding-rings  were  used  by  the  Jews  in  patri- 
archal days,  and  as  they  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Talmud,  some 
suppose  that  the  Hebrews  were  almost  the  last  people  to  adopt  them. 
Among  the  Romans  in  Pliny's  time  the  ring  was  iron,  and  some  are 
mentioned  set  with  adamants,  and  these  materials  indicated  the  per- 
petuity and  strength  of  the  contract.  The  ring  being  a  circle,  was 
meant  to  express  the  endless  nature  of  marriage.  In  the  Greek 
church  both  man  and  woman  wear  a  wedding-ring:  his  of  gold,  hers 
of  silver,  as  indicating  that  he  must  bring  the  chief  property  into  the 
family.  Among  mediaeval  Jews  the  ring  must  be  of  pure  gold,  of  a 
fixed  value,  and  not  come  by  by  debt,  gift,  or  theft,  but  purchased  by 
the  bridegroom.  The  converse  of  this  is  in  Ireland,  where  the  ring  may 
be  hired  or  borrowed,  if  only  it  be  gold ;  and  in  Gal  way  the  ring  is 
handed  down  from  mother  to  daughter  for  very  many  generations. 
A  vow  made  on  or  through  a  ring  was  formerly  held  as  very  sacred. 
In  the  Orkneys  in  old  times  the  contracting  parties  joined  hands 
through  a  ring  in  a  stone  pillar ;  in  Scandinavia,  formerly,  a  silver  ring 
dipped  in  the  blood  of  a  sacrificed  animal  was  used ;  and  in  Iceland 
a  great  ring  of  bone,  jet,  or  stone  was  kept  in  church,  through  which 
the  groom  put  four  fingers  to  clasp  his  bride's  hand.  Of  late  years, 
the  Swiss  Protestants  have  banished  the  ring  from  the  wedding  cere- 
mony; the  Quakers  also  do  not  use  it,  though  many  of  the  ladies 


THE  WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  485 

wear  a  ring  afterwards.  The  Puritans  during  the  Commonwealth 
abolished  the  nuptial  ring  as  a  pagan  invention  ;  the  Mormons  also 
reject  it,  probably  because  with  them  so  many  would  be  needed !  In 
Italy  for  many  years  a  diamond  ring  was  required,  as  some  virtue 
in  this  hardest  of  stones  was  supposed  to  bind  the  wedded  hearts  to 
concord.  While  the  Church  of  England  ritual  demands  a  ring,  any 
ring  may  be  used ;  the  ring  of  the  church  key  once  served  at  Col- 
chester, and  a  brass  ring  of  a  bed-curtain  was  used  in  London,  and 
also  at  May  Fair  for  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  ;  a  brass 
ring  was  employed  at  Worcester,  and  on  another  occasion  a  leather 
ring  hastily  cut  from  the  bridegroom's  glove  !  Mottoes  were  often 
used  on  marriage  rings.  Thus,  in  the  '  Merchant  of  Venice,'  the 
posy  was,  '  Love  me,  and  leave  me  not.'  An  old  Yorkshire  ring  had, 
'  Ma  fiance  velt,' — '  My  love  wills  it.'  Another  old  ring  reads,  'Gift 
and  giver,  your  servants  ever.'  Another:  'In  hope  is  help.'  Now 
the  style  is  for  a  plain,  heavy  gold  ring ;  this  is  often  guarded  by  a 
ring  with  a  gem,  as  a  diamond.  Mary  of  England  demanded  a  plain 
ring  from  Philip ;  and  Mary  of  Scots  used  three  rings  when  she 
married  Darnley,  whom  in  thrice  three  months  she  heartily  hated. 
A  wedding-ring  is  surrounded  by  superstitions.  It  is  supposed  to 
have  healing  properties  for  wounds,  sore  eyes,  mixing  medicines,  and 
so  on ;  while  to  lose  it  is  terribly  unlucky." 

"  I  did  not  suppose  there  was  such  a  variety  in  the  use  of  rings  at 
weddings,"  said  Laura.  "  Now  next  to  these  little  circlets  come 
flowers,  as  associated  with  marriages.  What  can  you  say  of 
them?" 

"Flowers  are  or  have  been  used  for  chaplets,  girdles,  bouquets, 
and  for  strewing  in  the  way.  Their  presence  at  the  bridal  meant  to 
signify  joy,  good  wishes,  and  marriage  as  the  crowning  act  of  a 
happy  life.  In  very  many  countries  this  distinction  is  observed,  that 
no  flowers  are  used  at  second  nuptials :  they  are  for  a  first  marriage 
only.  In  the  Greek  church  the  bridal  pair  had  crowns  of  olive, 
which  were,  with  much  ceremony,  placed  by  the  priest  on  their 
heads,  with  the  words :  '  The  servant  of  God  is  crowned,  and  mar- 


486  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

ries  the  handmaid  of  God.'  In  Scandinavia,  Iceland,  and  other  cold 
countries,  bridal  wreaths  were  kept  in  the  church  for  use,  and  were 
made  of  artificial  flowers  and  leaves.  These  chaplets,  in  many  coun- 
tries, are  mingled  with  gilt,  tinsel,  or  gold  crowns,  and  are  placed  on 
the  heads  of  bride  and  groom  by  the  nearest  relative,  generally  the 
mother:  this  is  also  an  Eastern  custom.  Thus  we  read  in  Canticles  : 
'  Go  forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  and  behold  King  Solomon 
with  the  crown,  wherewith  his  mother  crowned  him,  in  the  day  of 
his  espousals,  in  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart.' 

"  In  Russia  the  priest  put  upon  the  heads  of  the  pair  crowns  of 
rue  or  wormwood,  as  hinting  that  no  state  is  of  unalloyed  happiness. 
In  Holland  laurel  is  used  in  the  wreaths :  the  festoons  over  the  door- 
ways and  for  strewing  the  ground,  as  the  wedding-day  is  a  day  of 
triumph.  In  Athens  the  bridal  crown  was  of  ivy. 

"  In  Genoa  it  was  the  custom  for  a  man  to  offer  himself  by  sending 
to  the  object  of  his  love  a  large,  peculiarly  made  bouquet :  never 
used  for  other  occasions.  If  she  took  it  she  accepted  him,  and  then 
it  was  etiquette  for  him  to  send  her  every  morning  a  fresh  bouquet, 
whose  sise  would  mark  the  state  of  his  affections." 

"  I  should  think  the  bouquets  would  become  so  large  that  they 
could  not  be  carried,  nor  would  the  door  be  wide  enough  to  receive 
them,"  remarked  John  Frederick,  tranquilly. 

"  In  some  countries  the  flowers  were  woven  into  waist  garlands, 
and  the  tying  of  the  ends  of  these  together  by  the  priest  was  an 
important  part  of  the  ritual.  In  old  Rome  the  bride's  wreath  must 
be  of  verbena,  gathered  by  herself.  In  Bceotia  the  wreath  for  bride 
and  groom  must  be  woven  of  evergreens,  myrtle,  wild  thyme,  and 
roses,  all  plucked  by  the  bride  herself,  as  if  any  of  them  had  been 
purchased  it  would  be  considered  an  evil  omen." 

"That  is  a  very  different  view  from  that  now  current,"  said  Violet, 
"when  hundreds  of  dollars  are  laid  out  on  the  wedding  flowers,  and 
people  boast  of  what  has  been  paid  to  the  florist." 

"  In  Switzerland  the  bride  must  always  wear  a  garland  on  her 
head,  and  a  bouquet  at  her  bosom.  In  old  times,  in  England,  it  was 


THE  WORLD'S    WEDDING-DAY.  487 

a  rule  that  bridal  nosegays  should  be  of  primroses,  pinks,  and 
violets.  While  later  these  '  posies  '  were  made  up  of  lilies,  pansies, 
roses,  pinks,  and  clematis.  You  remember  poor  Ophelia  says : 
'  There's  rosemary — that's  for  remembrance ;  pray  you,  love,  remem- 
ber; and  there  is  pansies — that's  for  thoughts.' " 

"  I  thought  rosemary  was  a  funeral  flower,"  said  Thomas. 

"So  it  was;  and  a  wedding  flower  too.  It  was  supposed  to 
strengthen  the  memory.  Herrick  thus  writes  to  the  rosemary  : 

" '  Grow  for  two  ends  :  it  matters  not  at  all, 
Be't  for  my  bridall,  or  my  buriall.' 

"  In  Elizabeth's  time  every  bridegroom  must  have  a  bunch  of  rose- 
mary tied  with  ribbons.  From  1550  to  1700  you  can  hardly  find  a 
lengthened  notice  of  marriages  without  an  introduction  of  some 
thought  about  rosemary.  It  decked  the  roast  beef  at  the  marriage 
feast ;  it  was  hung  on  the  horses  that  drew  the  bridal  coach  ;  it  was 
sprinkled  for  the  couple  to  walk  on,  and  it  trimmed  the  walls  of  their 
room.  'As  soon  as  the  bridegroom  comes,'  says  Turf,  '  send  in  a 
van  of  rosemary  ! '  During  the  plague  a  bride  died  on  her  wedding- 
day.  '  Here,'  writes  Dekker,  '  is  a  most  strange  alteration.  In  the 
morning  the  rosemary  was  sprinkled  with  sweet  waters  for  her  bridal : 
it  was  at  night  wet  with  tears  at  her  burial.'  " 

"  When  did  orange  flowers  come  into  bridal  fashion  ? "  asked 
Dora. 

"After  Henry  Seventh's  time.  Their  use  is  Saracen  in  its  origin, 
and  the  orange  tree  is  emblematic  of  joy  and  abundance.  Of  late 
the  white  Persian  lilac,  as  a  more  delicate  and  less  stiff  flower,  is 
coming  into  use  for  a  bride's  wreath.  But  speaking  of  Henry 
Seventh  reminds  me  of  a  peculiar  circumstance.  He  was  of  York, 
and  his  emblem  was  the  -white  rose ;  he  ended  the  long  wars  of  the 
roses  by  marrying  Elizabeth  of  Lancaster  of  the  red  rose  faction. 
Their  wedding  flower  in  1486  was  the  variegated  red  and  white  rose : 
for  one  hundred  years  after  very  popular  in  England." 

"  The  next  thing  that  seems  to  belong  especially  to  bridals  is  the 
veil"  said  Laura. 


488  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  In  this  you  will  fancy  there  can  be  but  little  variety  in  custom. 
The  emblematic  intent  of  the  veil  is  modesty  and  subjection,  its 
white  color  is  to  denote  innocence.  Here  is  the  usual  meaning  of 
the  veil.  But  this  significance  and  fashion  are  in  some  places  not 
recognized.  Among  the  quasi- CJiristians  of  Georgia,  Circassia,  and 
Armenia,  the  bridegroom  wears  a  veil  as  well  as  the  bride.  In  old 
Rome  the  veil  of  the  bride  must  be  bright  yellow.  In  Persia  it  is 
now  of  crimson  silk.  In  Poland  the  bride  and  her  maids  wear  veils 
oired  silk.  In  Armenia  the  bride's  veil  is  white  and  very  long;  the 
groom's  is  of  flesh-colored  gauze,  and  reaches  to  his  waist." 

"  I'd  rather  not  be  married  than  look  so  absurd,"  said  Peter. 

"You  would  look  absurd  in  any  other  guise,  there?  said  Catherine; 
'''you  know  fashion  destroys  absurdity." 

"A  veil  was  a  distinctive  part  of  the  dress  of  a  Jewish  bride.  It 
covered  her  from  head  to  foot.  St.  Isidore  of  Seville  writes,  that  it 
is  proper  for  women  to  be  married  in  veils,  because  Rebecca,  when 
presented  to  Isaac,  '  took  a  veil  and  covered  herself.'  In  modern 
Egypt  the  veil  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  huge  and  smothering 
shawl,  and  after  the  marriage  ceremony  the  bridegroom  presents 
his  bride  with  some  money,  as  payment  for  the  privilege  of  looking 
for  the  first  time  on  her  countenance." 

"  I  pity  his  feelings,  if  she  happens  to  be  ugly,"  said  Peter. 

"  In  China  the  bride,  who  has  never  been  seen  by  the  bridegroom, 
is  covered  with  a  thick  veil,  locked  up  in  a  closed  sedan-chair,  and 
sent  to  her  husband's  house.  Her  nearest  male  relation  runs  by  the 
chair,  carrying  the  key.  The  bridegroom,  receiving  this,  unlocks  the 
door,  lifts  the  veil  and  takes  a  look  at  his  treasure.  If  he  cannot  be 
reconciled  to  her  appearance,  he  shuts  the  chair  as  quick  as  a  flash, 
hands  back  the  key  and  sends  her  home.  This  does  not  often  hap- 
pen, as  his  mother  has  generally  selected  the  bride,  with  a  view  to 
her  son's  taste.  One  of  the  pleasantest  modern  associations  of  the 
veil  concerns  Queen  Victoria's  marriage.  Finding  that  the  village 
of  Honiton  was  impoverished  because  its  lace  had  gone  out  of  fash- 
ion, and  that  with  the  cessation  of  this  manufacture  the  people  had 


THE   WORLD'S  WEDDING  DAY.  489 

fallen  into  misery,  her  Majesty  ordered  from  thence  her  bridal  attire. 
This  brought  Honiton  lace  into  the  front  of  the  fashion,  and  as  the 
two  eldest  daughters  of  the  Queen,  and  also  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
followed  the  royal  example,  Honiton  lace  has  since  remained  in 
style.  In  this  act  Victoria  showed  the  loving-kindness  of  a  generous 
woman,  and  the  wisdofn  of  a  true  sovereign,  who  encourages  domes- 
tic manufactures,  and  builds  up  the  waste  places  of  the  domin- 
ions." 

"You  mentioned  fruits  in  connection  with  marriages,"  said 
Thomas,  "  what  was  their  use?" 

"  In  Athens  part  of  the  marriage  ceremony  consisted  in  the 
eating  of  a  pomegranate  together,  by  the  bridal  pair.  Connected 
with  this  may  be  the  myth  of  Pluto  and  Proserpina,  when  the  god 
secured  his  bride,  for  at  least  half  the  year,  by  persuading  her  to  eat 
some  pomegranate  with  him.  Jean  Ingelow  describes  it  thus : 

"'  He  takes  the  qjeft  pomegranate  seeds; 

"  Love,  eat  with  me,  this  parting  day ;  " 
Then  bids  them  fetch  the  coal-black  steeds. 

"  Demeter's  daughter,  wouldst  away  ?  " 
The  gates  of  Hades  set  her  free, 

"  She  will  return  full  soon,"  said  he, 
"  My  wife,  my  wife,  Persephone." 

"  '  Low  laughed  the  dark  king  on  his  throne, 

"  I  gave  her  of  pomegranate  seeds ;  " 
Demeter's  daughter  stands  alone, 
Upon  the  fair  Eleusian  meads.' 

Solon  made  it  a  law  that  the  newly  wedded  pair  should  eat  a  quince 
together,  to  indicate  that  their  mutual  relations  should  be  agreeable. 
In  India  the  betel  nut  wrapped  in  leaves  or  in  tinsel,  is  ex- 
changed by  the  couple ;  rice  also  is  plentifully  flung  over  the  bride, 
as  an  omen  of  good  luck  and  abundance.  In  Spain  ears  of  wheat 
were  thus  used,  as  in  the  ballad  of  the  Cid's  bridal  with  Ximena,  it 
says : 

M  'All  down  the  street,  the  ears  of  wheat 
Are  round  Ximena  flying.' 


490  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

In  Burmah,  in  sealing  any  civil  contract,  the  parties  partake  of  tea 
leaves  steeped  in  oil,  and  part  of  the  wedding  ceremony  is  the  eating 
of  this  elegant  mixture." 

"  Was  there  any  especial  meaning  in  the  use  of  perfumes,  at  mar- 
riages?" asked  Harriet. 

"  They  were  supposed  to  be  efficacious  in  warding  off  evil  eye, 
witch-crafts,  and  demons.  The  bride  and  groom  load  themselves,  in 
some  countries,  with  all  kinds  of  gums,  herbs,  and  vegetables  having 
strong  scents,  even  such  as  garlic,  camphor,  sandal-wood;  and  pleasant 
or  unpleasant  odors,  to  keep  away  envious  imps.  Some  such  super- 
stition as  this  prevailed  in  mediaeval  England,  where  the  church 
doors  were  anointed  with  perfumes,  before  the  bride  entered.  Thus 
in  a  tale  called  '  The  Maids  of  Moreclacke,'  before  the  brides  on 
their  way  to  church  goes  a  maid  strewing  flowers,  and  a  man-ser- 
vant to  anoint  the  church  doors  with  perfumes." 

"  I  think,"  said  Samuel,  "  thaf  I  have  heard  something  odd  about 
church  doors,  in  connection  with  weddings,  but  I  cannot  recall  what 
it  is." 

"  Very  probably  it  is  this,  that  in  old  times  the  couple  were  mar- 
ried, not  inside  the  church,  but  outside,  and  after  marriage  enter  the 
church  for  some  religious  observances.  This  probably  arose  from  a 
desire  of  all  people  to  see  the  ceremony,  and  from  an  idea  of  making 
it  more  impressive  and  binding  by  having  as  many  witnesses  as 
possible.  The  noisy  Wife  of  Bath  in  Chaucer's  '  Canterbury  Tales,' 
says: 

" '  Husbands  at  churche  door  have  I  had  fyve.' 

"In  the  reign  of  Edward  Sixth,  weddings  took  place  in  the  church 
porch.  Henrietta  Marie,  of  France,  when  married  by  proxy  to  King 
Charles  First,  of  England,  was  married  at  the  door  of  the  church  •>/ 
Notre  Dame,  Buckingham  being  the  officiating  bridegroom.  In 
1553  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  France  was  married  by  the  Bishop  of 
Paris,  by  proxy,  to  Philip  of  Spain,  at  the  door  of  Notre  Dame 
church. 

"  Selden  and  Littleton,  both  writers  on  English  law,  mention  the 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  491 

church  door  as  the  place  for  marriage,  and  for  the  declaration, '  before 
all  men,'  of  the  bride's  dower.  When  Marguerite  of  France  came 
to  England  to  marry  Edwa'rd  First,  the  royal  lover  took  her  hand  at 
the  door  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  and  declared  her  dower  in  lands 
and  houses." 

"  What  is  marriage  by  proxy  ?  "  asked  Dora. 

"  Until  the  present  century,  when  international  law  and  public 
faith  have  become  more  assured,  it  was  considered  inexpedient  for 
a  sovereign,  or  any  important  grandee,  to  leave  his  home  to  take  a 
bride.  Not  only  were  the  dangers  of  travelling  too  great,  but  it  was 
feared  that  on  pretence  of  marriage  the  groom  might  be  betrayed 
into  captivity,  or  to  death.  Therefore,  the  contract  being  made,  the 
groom  sent  a  friend  empowered  to  be  married  for  him:  the  public 
faith  and  pledge  of  this  proxy  being  considered  as  secure  as  that  of 
the  real  bridegroom.  The  ceremony  being  performed  at  her  own 
home,  the  bride  with  her  attendants,  escorted  by  the  proxy,  went  to 
the  home  of  the  bridegroom,  where  the  ceremony  was  confirmed. 
In  1791  Lord  Malmesbury  thus  went  and  married,  as  proxy  for  the 
Duke  of  York,  a  royal  prince  of  England,  a  princess  of  Prussia; 
Clovis  of  France  married  by  proxy  the  Princess  Clotilde;  in  1491 
the  Archduke  Maximilian  sent  a  proxy  to  marry  for  him  Anne  of 
Bretagnc ;  by  proxy  Philippa  of  Hainhault  married  Edward  III.  of 
England  ;  the  Earl  Marshal  of  England  was  proxy  for  Richard  the 
Second  in  marrying  Isabelle  of  Valois.  The  most  curious  case  of 
proxy  was  when  Antoine  Riczi  went  to  England  as  proxy  for  Joanna 
of  Navarre,  a  royal  widow,  when  she  married  Henry  Fourth :  this 
is  probably  the  only  case  of  a  lady  having  a  male  proxy.  However, 
Henry  and  Riczi  presented  themselves  at  the  altar  to  the  priest,  pro- 
nounced their  vows,  and  Henry  put  on  Riczi's  finger  a  marriage  ring. 
Then  the  proxy  went  home  to  Navarre  and  gave  the  ring  to  his  liege 
lady,  and  considering  it  safe  to  go  to  England  now  that  she  was 
married,  Joanna  hastened  to  her  husband.  The  Earl  of  Suffolk, 
much  protesting,  espoused  Margaret  of  Anjou  for  Henry  Sixth. 
The  carl  protested,  fearing  that  Henry  might  '  repent  at  leisure '  and 


492  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

blame  him !  James  Second  of  England  married,  in  1673,  Mary  of 
Modena,  the  Earl  of  Peterborough  being  his  proxy,  and  the  cere- 
mony being  performed  by  a  renegade,  exiled  English  priest,  as  the 
Romish  court  had  scruples  about  it.  Anne  of  Denmark  was  married 
by  proxy  to  James  Sixth  of  Scotland,  the  Earl  Marischal  of  Scotland 
being  the  bridegroom  pro  tern.  The  major  domo  of  the  Spanish 
Emperor  Charles  Fifth  was  wedded  by  proxy  at  Valladolid,  he 
being  at  Brussels,  and  unable  to  get  leave  to  go  to  Spain  and  be 
married.  In  ancient  times,  when  very  young  children  or  princes 
were  married,  a  proxy  almost  always  officiated.  In  Turkey  a  proxy 
called  a  sargois,  or  '  friend  of  the  bridegroom/  is  often  called  upon  to 
marry  and  escort  home  the  bride." 

"A  proxy  marriage  is  then  different  from  a  morganatic  marriage  ?  " 
said  Thomas. 

"A  morganatic  marriage  is  almost  peculiar  to  Germany,"  said  the 
Stranger.  "  It  is  a  left-handed  marriage  made  between  a  man  of 
rank  and  a  woman  inferior  to  him.  The  marriage  is  legal  and  has 
church  sanction ;  but  part  of  its  condition  is,  that  the  wife  does  not 
share  the  husband's  rank,  nor  can  her  children  inherit  his  titles  nor 
estate.  The  second  marriage  of  King  Victor  Immanuel,  a  civil  con- 
tract without  a  church  ceremony,  partook  largely  of  the  nature  of  a 
morganatic  marriage.  He  married  a  countess  :  a  widow  who  had  risen 
from  a  rank  but  little  above  a  peasant's.  The  second  marriage  of  the 
Emperor  Alexander  Second,  of  Russia,  was  also  much  of  this  sort, 
though  it  had  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  sanction." 

"  You  spoke  of  wines  being  used  at  marriages.  I  suppose  that 
you  do  not  approve  of  that?  "  said  Violet. 

"  Certainly  not ;  but  anciently  they  had  a  symbolical  meaning.  In  the 
Jewish  wedding  the  priest,  having  tasted  a  cup  of  wine,  gave  it  to  the 
couple  to  share  between  themselves.  In  mediaeval  times,  in  England, 
wine  was  so  important  at  a  wedding  that  churchwardens  paid  for 
the  cup  of  wine  to  be  used  in  the  marriage  service  of  the  very  poor. 
Thus  on  church  accounts  we  find  charged  :  '  for  wine  and  a  sop  of 
bread  wherewith  to  take  it,  2d.'  It  was  called  a '  bryde  cup,'  or  a  '  knit- 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  493 

ting  cup.'  Wealthy  brides  had  this  cup  carried  before  them,  of  gold, 
elegantly  ornamented,  and  with  a  sprig  of  rosemary  floating  in  the 
wine.  Wine  was  at  that  time  so  much  a  part  in  English  marriage 
ceremonies  that  one  was  not  legally  wedded  without  the  'contracting 
cup.'  Thus  in  an  old  play :  '  Did  you  break  a  coin  ? '  '  Nay.'  '  Drank 
ye  together  ?  '  '  Not  a  drop.'  '  Go  to  then  ;  it  was  no  wedding :  it 
cannot  stand  in  law.'  The  cup  was  a  token  of  joy,  of  plenty,  and  of 
the  unity  and  joint  possession  of  all  things  by  the  wedded  pair." 

"  You  mentioned,  also,  glass  as  an  accompaniment  of  weddings," 
said  Catherine. 

"In  Hebrew  weddings  the  groom,  having  finished  drinking  the 
wine,  took  the  glass  cup  wherein  the  liquor  was  and  dashed  it  vio- 
lently against  the  wall.  This  was  said  by  some  to  betoken  the 
miseries  and  ruin  that  had  come  on  Jerusalem,  and  that  they  remem- 
bered the  fallen  city  '  above  their  chief  joy.'  Glass  or  earthen  vessels 
were  also  broken  at  the  bride's  door,  to  signify  that  the  past  and  its 
associations  were  broken,  and  that  in  future  it  was  to  be  remembered 
that  all  human  joys  passed  away,  and  earthly  unions  ended.  The 
modern  Jews  still  shatter  glasses  at  nuptials  to  teach  the  frailty  of  life, 
to  hint  the  fate  of  those  who  break  their  wedded  faith,  and  to  signify 
the  making  room  for  good  fortune.  In  Prussia,  when  Lord  Malmes- 
bury  married  as  proxy  the  Duchess  of  York,  the  people  broke  a 
great  heap  of  glass  and  earthenware  at  her  door.  In  Russia  the 
bridegroom  breaks  and  tramples  on  the  cup  from  which  the  priest 
has  drunk  his  health,  and  says:  'So  let  them  be  confounded  and 
trodden  on  who  create  ill  will  between  me  and  my  married  wife.'  In 
Persia,  as  the  bride  goes  to  her  husband's  house,  one  of  her  young 
friends  marches  before  her,  carrying  a  looking-glass,  that  the  girl 
may  behold  herself  for  the  last  time  as  unmarried.  But  in  the  south 
of  England  it  is  considered  a  sure  sign  of  disaster  for  a  bride  to  look 
in  a  glass  after  she  is  fully  dressed." 

"  But,"  said  Violet,  "  I  have  been  waiting  with  the  utmost 
curiosity  to  learn  what  shoes  have  particularly  to  do  with  weddings." 

"You  must  know,  in  the  first  place,  that  from  most  ancient  times 

• 


494  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

the  shoe  was  a  symbol  of  power  or  authority.  The  giving  of  a 
shoe  by  one  party  to  another  signified  the  transfer  of  some  right. 
So  when  Ruth's  '  near  kinsman '  declined  to  ask  her  hand,  he  gave 
to  Boaz  a  shoe,  in  the  presence  of  the  elders  who  sat  in  the  gate, 
thus  indicating  that  he  made  over  to  Boaz  all  claim  on  the  hand  or 
field  of  Ruth.  In  early  Christian  times  these  '  shoe  symbols  '  were 
recognized.  Gregory  of  Tours  says,  describing  marriage  ceremonies: 
'  The  bridegroom  shall  present  to  his  espoused  a  ring  and  a  shoe.' 
This  indicated  his  taking  her  into  a  perpetual  union,  and  giving  her 
authority  over  his  house.  In  Luther's  day,  when  Jean  Luffte  was 
married,  the  groom's  shoe  was  set  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  as  declar- 
ing that  he  was  to  be  master  of  his  house.  Among  the  Eastern 
Jews  it  was  in  the  middle  ages  a  custom  to  carry  a  shoe  before  a 
bride,  as  a  token  that  she  had  resigned  her  independence.  The  Ro- 
man bride  was  required  to  wear  bright  yellow  shoes,  to  match  the  hue 
of  her  veil.  In  Ceylon,  and  generally  through  Asia,  a  bride's  shoes 
are  an  important  part  of  her  attire,  and  are  elaborately  ornamented, 
being  of  velvet,  wrought  with  gold,  silver  and  seed  pearls.  A  refer- 
ence to  this  is  in  Canticles,  where  it  is  sung  to  the  bride:  'How 
beautiful  are  thy  feet  with  shoes,  oh,  prince's  daughter!'  This  shoe 
symbol  is  of  world-wide  acceptance.  The  pagan  natives  of  Peru  had 
this  form  of  marriage :  when  a  .man  desired  any  particular  woman 
foi  a  wife,  he  took  a  certain  kind  of  shoe,  and  going  to  her  father's 
house,  asked  his  permission  to  put  it  on  his  daughter's  foot.  This 
clone,  she  was  his  wife,  and  he  led  her  to  his  own  home.  If  the 
chosen  bride  were  a  young  maiden,  the  shoe  was  made  of  wool : 
but  if  she  were  a  widow,  the  shoe  was  made  of  woven  rushes. 

"Formerly  among  the  Germans,  as  the  bride  left  the  wedding 
banquet,  she  took  off  her  shoe  and  flung  it  back  among  the  guests. 
A  struggle  ensued  for  its  possession,  and  the  person  who  obtained  it 
esteemed  it  a  happy  omen.  The  Liburnians  had  at  their  marriages 
two  bridesmen,  or  attendants,  who  presented  the  lady  with  new  shoes 
and  stockings.  After  the  dance,  she  put  on  these,  and  gave  her 
bridesmen  two  or  three  old  handkerchiefs,  thus  declaring  that  she 


THE   WORLD'S    WEDDING-DAY.  495 

was  shod  or  prepared  for  her  life  as  a  matron,  and  resigned  the 
amusements  of  her  girlhood.  The  Highland  Scotch  took  particular 
care  that  the  bride's  shoes  should  be  without  buckle  or  tie,  to  pre- 
vent the  influence  of  witches.  When  Waldemar,  who  from  low  estate 
had  risen  to  be  emperor,  asked  in  marriage  the  daughter  of  Regnald, 
proud  of  her  high  birth,  the  lady  responded  that  '  she  would  not  take 
off  her  shoes  to  the  son  of  a  slave;'  meaning  that  she  would  not 
resign  her  independence  to  his  authority.  Leobard  of  Tours  gave 
the  lady  of  his  love  a  ring  to  bind  her  faith  to  his:  a  kiss  to  bind 
her  heart  to  his,  and  a  pair  of  shoes  to  show  her  that  he  was  ever 
willing  to  wait  upon  and  defend  her. 

"All  through  Great  Britain  the  superstition  of  shoe-throwing  after  a 
departing  bride  prevails.  Doubtless,  the  early  meaning  of  this  was, 
that  the  parents  resigned  their  authority  over  the  daughter  that  had 
been  given  away.  They  now  say  that  the  shoe  is  thrown  for  tick, 
and  in  some  districts  it  must  be  a  shoe  from  the  left  foot ;  in  others 
the  older  the  shoe  is.  the  better.  In  Leicestershire,  when  the  oldest 
shoe  on  the  premises  has  been  found,  it  is  tied  with  a  white  satin 
ribbon  and  hung  up  in  the  hall  '  for  luck '  after  the  throwing." 

"Why,  a  good  many  of  those  ideas  and  associations  are  very 
pretty,"  said  Violet ;  "  the  next  friend  of  mine  who  is  married  shall 
have  from  me  a  charming  shoe  of  some  kind,  as  a  memento  of  old 
times  and  an  omen  of  good  luck.  Is  there  anything  curious  about 
the  custom  of  giving  wedding  presents  ?  " 

"  The  habit  is  very  ancient.  We  find  that  Isaac's  servant,  when 
he  courted  Rebecca  in  behalf  of  his  master,  propitiated  her  family  by 
'jewels  of  silver,  and  je(wels  of  gold,  and  raiment,  and  precious 
things.'  The  Talmud  made  it  obligatory  on  every  man  to  marry, 
and  that  the  poor  might  be  able  to  marry,  all  their  friends  gave 
them  money,  clothing,  household  utensils,  and  food.  The  wedding 
was  held  in  a  large  public  room ;  a  friend  stood  at  the  door  to  re- 
ceive the  presents,  and  those  invited  who  could  not  attend  sent  their 
contributions.  Each  person's  name  and  gift  having  been  written 
down,  the  presents  were  made  over  to  the  young  couple.  The  gifts 


496  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

brought  for  the  necessities  of  the  poor  were  conferred  on  the  wealthier 
from  custom,  and  from  a  desire  to  show  affection. 

"The  most  curious  wedding  presents  are  made  by  the  Chinese, 
especially  by  the  family  of  the  groom,  who  send  to  the  bride's  family, 
a  few  days  before  the  wedding,  such  articles  as  these :  a  cock,  a  hen, 
a  pig's  leg,  a  goat's  leg,  vermicelli,  eight  torches,  six  red  candles, 
and  bunches  of  fire-crackers.  In  Java  the  presents  are  made  to  the 
bride,  who  is  usually  very  young,  and  are  to  console  her  for  the  loss 
of  her  childhood  and  her  playthings.  After  the  Javanese  maiden  is 
betrothed  she  gets  together  all  her  toys  and  makes  a  grand  holo- 
caust, to  show  that  henceforth  she  puts  away  childish  things.  Her 
friends  then  come  and  congratulate  her,  and  give  her  clothes,  money, 
jewels,  confections,  and  trinkets  of  value,  to  make  up  to  her  for  the 
dolls,  tops,  balls  and  hoops  which  she  has  sacrificed. 

"  In  Poland,  when  a  marriage  was  to  be  arranged,  the  bridegroom's 
family  did  not  inquire  what  riches  the  bride's  parents  had,  but  '  How 
many  relations?'  For  all  relations  would  give  presents,  and  from 
these  arose  the  bride's  wealth.  In  Scotland  what  were  called  'penny 
weddings,'  or  '  pay  weddings,'  were  made  by  poor  people ;  all  the 
guests  paid  a  coin  at  the  door,  and  this  set  up  the  young  people  in 
housekeeping.  '  Pay  weddings  '  were  usually  scenes  of  uproar  and 
drinking,  and  the  church  and  magistrates  strove,  but  until  lately  in 
vain,  against  them.  In  some  parts  of  England  and  in  Wales,  for 
several  centuries,  '  bidding  weddings '  were  customary  among  those 
in  humble  circumstances.  The  young  couple  sent  forth  a  friend, 
who,  carrying  a  long  wand  decorated  with  ribbons,  went  among  all 
the  acquaintances,  and  in  rhymes  of  his  own  making,  or  by  deliver- 
ing 'bidding  letters,'  invited  them  to  the  wedding,  the 'biddings/ 
whether  oral  or  written,  carefully  stating  that  gifts  were  expected. 
Such  phrases  were  used  as,  '  What  favors  you  may  then  in  kindness 
confer  on  us,  we  will  return  on  similar  occasion  to  you,  with  our  best 
wishes ; '  or,  '  We  request  that  all  gifts,  hitherto  made  by  us  at  wed- 
dings, may  now  be  returned  to  us  in  kind,  with  any  additional  favors, 
for  which  we  will  be  duly  grateful.' 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY,  4Q7 

"  In  England  wealthy  families  were  wont  to  set  up  favorite  ser- 
vants or  poor  relations  in  married  life,  by  inviting  a  party  of  wealthy 
friends  to  a  feast,  and  requesting  them  to  contribute  to  the  fortunes 
of  the  bridal  pair.  Pepys,  in  November,  1660,  writes  in  his  famous 
gossiping  diary:  '  I  went  to  Sir  W.  Batten's  to  dinner,  he  having  a 
couple  of  servants  married  to-day :  and  so  there  were  a  great  number 
of  merchants  and  others  of  good  quality,  on  purpose  after  dinner  to 
make  an  offering,  which,  when  dinner  was  done,  we  did.  I  gave 
ten  shillings,  and  no  more,  though  I  believe  most  of  the  rest  did  give 
more,  and  that  they  believed  that  I  did  so  too.' 

"Among  the  Moors,  the  custom  is  to  allow  the  bachelor  friends 
of  the  groom  to  stick  gold  coins  on  his  face,  and  as  they  fall  off  the 
attendants  catch  them  in  a  basin,  and  they  become  his  portion. 
This  was  also  the  custom  in  ancient  Assyria.  Sweden  formerly  had 
'  pay  weddings,'  and  also  in  early  times  the  bride  and  groom  sat  under 
a  canopy,  and  their  friends,  retainers  or  subjects  passed  before  them, 
laying  gifts  at  their  feet,  as  a  sign  of  love  and  gratulation.  In  fact, 
early  practices  of  wedding  presents  arose  either  from  the  demands 
of  poverty,  or  from  a  spirit  of  lordly  extortion,  and  these  elements 
are  not  lacking  in  wedding  gifts  at  the  present  day.  The  practice  is 
now  carried  to  such  an  extreme,  so  much  emulation  and  display 
being  embraced  in  it,  that  it  often  becomes  burdensome  and  indeli- 
cate. What  was  once  a  token  of  love  between  friends  has  now 
become  a  tribute  to  a  custom,  and  is  often  grudgingly  paid." 

"  You  spoke  of  money  as  well  as  of  presents,  as  if  the  two  had 
some  distinct  significance  in  wedding  customs,"  said  Dora. 

"  In  some  countries  the  giving  of  a  coin  was  part  of  the  ceremony 
of  betrothal,  or  of  marriage.  The  breaking  of  a  six-pence  or  a  nine- 
pence  between  lovers  was  a  token  of  their  engagement.  In  some 
places  it  was  necessary  that  the  coin  be  crooked.  Butler  says  in 
'  Hudibras: ' 

"  '  Like  commendation  nine-pence  crooked, 
With,  "  to  and  from  my  love," — it  looked.' 

When  Philip  of  Spain  married  Mary  Tudor,  Queen  of  England,  he 
32 


498  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

laid  on  the  book  'a  handful  of  gold,'  which  one  of  the  queen's  brides- 
maids put  into  the  royal  purse.  In  Albania,  the  girls  wear  close  cloth 
caps,  whereon  coins  are  sewed,  showing  what  dower  they  have. 
Friends  often  begin  giving  these  coins  to  the  girl  in  infancy,  and  ^he 
strings  them  on  cords  and  hangs  them  around  her  head,  often  they 
overlap  each  other,  and  a  row  of  gold  coins  goes  about  the  forehead. 
While  in  England  the  dividing  of  a  coin  meant  marriage,  in  Ton- 
quin  it  is  a  token  of  divorce.  The  man  breaks  the  money,  and  giv- 
ing half  to  his  wife  as  a  sign,  sends  her  away.  In  Egypt  no  marriage 
was  concluded  without  the  groom  putting  money  in  his  wife's  hands. 
In  France  money  is  always  given  to  the  bride  as  a  token  of  favor. 
By  law  of  olden  times  she  must  have  a.  sou  and  a  denier,  but  of  course 
she  gets  more  in  proportion  to  the  status  of  her  lover.  When  Na- 
poleon married  Eugenie,  money  was  presented  to  her.  Often 
now  '  marriage  coins '  or  '  medals '  are  struck  for  tokens.  The 
Rheims'  ritual  demanded  that  thirteen  pennies  be  given  to  the 
bride.  Other  rituals  required  that  at  the  words  '  With  all  my 
goods  I  thee  endow,'  a  purse  with  coins  be  put  into  the  bride's 
hands.  Several  English  rituals  ordained  this,  up  to  the  time  of 
Edward  Sixth.  The  custom  of  scattering  money  among  the  poor, 
children,  or  the  public  in  the  streets,  was  supposed  to  ensure  pros- 
perity, and  sprinkling  coins  over  the  heads  of  bride  and  groom 
brought  good  fortune." 

"  Were  not  many  superstitions  connected  with  months,  as  regarded 
marriage  ?  "  asked  John  Frederick. 

"The  classic  authors  have  many  hints  of  this:  Proclus  says  mar- 
riages should  be  celebrated  at  the  new  moon,  but  Pindar  the  poet 
says  in  the  full  moon;  to  this  also  Euripides  agrees.  Hesiod  says  no 
time  is  so  favorable  for  marriage  as  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  Jan- 
uary. The  Greeks  especially  preferred  this  month  for  bridals.  The 
Latins  esteemed  June  the  happy  month,  and  while  they  also  ap- 
proved of  January  marriages,  they  discountenanced  them  in  February 
and  May." 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING  DAY.  499 

"Why  I  supposed  that  May  was  a  real  lover's  month,"  said 
Thomas. 

"  On  the  contrary,  the  Romans  thought  no  month  so  adverse  to 
domestic  life.  Ovid  says  May  weddings  were  always  unhappy. 
Plutarch  admits  the  fact  and  tries  to  explain  it.  May  was  '  the  old 
men's  month.'  The  superstition  against  May  did  not  end  with  clas- 
sic times ;  when  Mary  Stuart  married  Darnley,  some  one  wrote  over 
Holyrood  gate  :  '  Mense  malas  Maio  nubere  vulgus  ait';  or,  freely: 
Everybody  says  you  err,  marrying  in  the  May  month.  In  Scotland 
both  January  and  May  were  objected  to  for  bridals ;  and  in  Perth- 
shire May  is  considered  of  the  most  miserable  omen.  The  Latins 
esteemed  February  dangerous  as  a  marriage  month.  In  Sicily  the 
same  dread  of  May  exists.  The  Roman  Catholic  church  early  forbid 
weddings  in  Lent,  and  on  certain  days  and  festivals." 

"And  how  about  days  for  marriages?  "  said  Samuel. 

"  In  Scotland  the  upper  classes  married  on  Monday,  and  the  lower 
classes  on  Tuesday  and  Friday.  But  in  many  places  Friday  is  con- 
sidered a  most  dangerous  day ;  so  is  the  fourteenth  of  May.  The 
Romans  forbid  marriage  on  the  calends,  nones,  and  ides  of  each 
month,  that  is  on  the  first,  the  seventh,  and  the  fifteenth  of  most 
months,  though  of  some  months  the  nones  were  the  fifth,  the  ides 
the  thirteenth.  In  Strasburg  two  centuries  ago,  tradesmen  married 
on  Mondays  and  Wednesdays.  A  rainy  day  is  considered  ominous 
of  evil,  especially  in  India.  The  Jews  preferred  Wednesdays ;  the 
modern  Jews  fixed  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  for  maids'  marriages, 
and  Thursdays  for  widows.  The  Moors  do  not  allow  marriages  on 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  or  Friday;  Saturday  was  the  only  marriage 
day  in  Cardiganshire.  The  superstition  that  a  put-off  bridal  is  un- 
lucky prevails  in  many  places.  The  28th  of  December  was  formerly 
supposed  to  be  a  very  fatal  day  to  marriages.  An  old  book  on 
marriage  says  Tuesday  and  Thursday  marriages  are  always  happy. 
A  popular  ancient  rhyme  runs  thus : 

"  '  Monday  for  wealth, 
Tuesday  for  health, 


500  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Wednesday  the  best  day  of  all. 

Thursday  for  crosses, 

Friday  for  losses, 
Saturday  no  luck  at  all.' 

This  you  see  omits  Sunday  altogether,  but  an  old  ballad  says: 

"  'And  I  shall  be  glad  as  a  bird  in  spring 

Because  I  was  married  o'  Sunday ! ' 

Generally  Sunday  marriages  are  discountenanced.  The  clergy  con- 
sider that  they  disturb  the  quiet  and  solemnity  of  the  day,  and  in 
some  places,  as  marriage  is  regarded  as  a  civil  contract,  and  civil 
contracts  made  on  Sunday  are  not  binding,  it  is  estimated  that  Sun- 
day marriages  are  unlawful.  An  old  English  proverb  runs  :  '  Blessed 
is  the  bride  that  the  sun  shines  on,'  and  rainy  weddings  were  cause 
of  great  lamentation.  As  for  hours,  in  Goa  no  marriage  after  noon- 
day was  allowed,  and  marriage  before  twelve  at  noon  is  English  law." 
"  Music  is  an  accompaniment  of  weddings :  why?" 
"  To  express  joy,  and  to  scare  away  demons.  The  Anglo-Saxons 
always  had  wedding  minstrelsy.  Allusions  to  music  at  marriages 
are  frequent :  'To  cheer  up  the  bride's  heart/  says  one.  '  Your  wed- 
ding dinner  is  starved  without  music/  says  another.  Vernon  tells 
of  a  right  jolly  priest  who  when  any  of  his  people  wedded,  took  his 
bag-pipe  and  marched  before  them  to  the  church,  playing  all  the 
way.  At  church  'he  layd  his  instrument  right  handsomelye  on  ye 
aultare,  tyll  he  had  maryed  them  and  sayd  a  masse.  Then  he  would 
gentillye  bringe  them  home  againe  withe  ye  bag-pipe.'  Epithala- 
mium,  or  wedding  songs,  are  of  note  in  poetry,  and  several  wedding 
marches  are  famous  in  music.  In  the  '  Ancient  Mariner '  we  read  : 

"  '  The  wedding  guest  here  beat  his  breast 
For  he  heard  the  loud  bassoon. 

"  '  The  bride  hath  paced  into  the  hall, 

Red  as  a  rose  is  she ; 
Nodding  their  heads,  before  her  goes 
The  merry  minstrelsy.' 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING  DAY.        .  501 

"Also,  after  the  ceremony, 

"  '  What  loud  uproar  bursts  from  that  door ! 

The  wedding  guests  are  there ; 

But  in  the  garden-bower  the  bride 

And  bride-maids  singing  are.' 

"I  think  we  must  now  hear  something  about  wedding  cere- 
monies," said  Catherine. 

"These  embrace  the  widest  varieties:  what  is  etiquette  in  one 
country  is  scandalous  in  another.  Christian  and  civilized  nations 
discountenance  an  elopement :  parents  feel  disgraced  by  it,  and  the 
couple  usually  live  to  blush  at  their  hasty  conduct.  But  among  the 
Turkomans  it  is  the  strictest  etiquette,  and  parents  would  be  insulted 
if  they  were  supposed  capable  of  giving  away  a  child :  she  must 
be  captured,  and  then  it  is  generous  in  them  to  forgive  the  pair. 
The  most  simple  ceremony  known  is  among  the  Nairs  of  Malabar : 
it  consists  in  merely  tying  a  piece  of  thread  about  a  woman's  neck ! 
The  most  elaborate  ceremony  is  in  India :  this  comprises  seven  suc- 
cessive steps  or  stages,  all  wearisome  in  the  extreme.  The  ritual 
occupies  four  days,  is  accompanied  by  some  thirty  or  forty  oblations, 
as  many  typical  acts,  alterations  of  attire,  exchanging  of  gifts,  re- 
peating of  texts  from  the  sacred  books,  offering  of  sacrifices,  pre- 
paring and  eating  of  food,  and  an  almost  endless  variety  of  perform- 
ances, all  followed  by  a  degrading,  barbarous,  and  loveless  slavery." 

"  Can  the  variety  of  marriage  ceremonies  be  divided  into  classes 
of  any  kind  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  they  are  capable  of  this  division  :  marriage 
by  capture  ;  marriage  as  a  religious  ceremony ;  civil  marriage." 

"  Marriage  by  capture  !  "  cried  Violet,  "how  is  that  ?  " 

"It  seems  in  many  countries  to  be  a  tradition  or  form  that  a 
woman  could  not  willingly  give  herself  to  any  man.  In  fact,  as  the 
nations  where  this  idea  prevails  are  quite  or  semi-barbarous,  and  the 
woman's  lot  is  one  of  unmitigated  hardship  and  contempt,  we  may 
not  wonder  at  this  view.  It  is  therefore  supposed  to  be  either  idle 
or  improper  to  ask  a  woman  to  do  what  she  certainly  will  not, 


502  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

namely,  marry  peaceably,  and  so  her  lover  captures  her.  The  fashion 
of  wife-capture  is  doubtless  based  on  the  reasoning  which  I  have  given 
you  ;  and  yet  in  many  countries  it  was  followed  as  a  historic  fashion, 
or  commemorative  of  some  event,  long  after  the  reason  passed  out 
of  existence.  The  story  of  the  capture  of  Sabine  wives  by  the 
Romans  is  well  known  to  all :  so  is  the  capture  of  the  women  of 
Shiloh  by  the  Benjaminites,  as  told  in  the  last  chapter  of  Judges. 
The  Greek  myth  of  the  Centaurs  seizing  the  daughters  of  the  Lapi- 
thae  is  probably  a  poetic  account  of  the  conflict  of  two  early  bar- 
baric races  where  the  men  of  one  tribe  seized  the  daughters  of  the 
other  tribe  for  wives — the  homo-equine  nature  of  the  Centaur  merely 
expressing  some  Scythic  race  of  rude  horsemen." 

"And  where  did  this  capture  marriage  exist  ?  and  is  it  known  at 
present  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"Yes;  among  the  Patagonians,  Australians,  and  Bedouins,  the 
marriage  is  still  by  capture.  In  many  places  the  capture  is  only 
nominal :  being  a  mere  pre-arranged  form.  The  Greeks  and  Romans 
pretended  to  capture  their  wives  after  the  contract  had  been  carefully 
made  out ;  and  where  now  the  ceremony  of  lifting  a.  bride  over  the 
threshold  or  into  a  vehicle  exists,  it  is  a  remnant  of  the  capture  plan. 
In  Australia  the  stealing  of  wives  is  a  fact,  attended  by  bloodshed, 
cruelty,  and  often  murder:  the  poor  girl,  if  a  beauty,  frequently 
being  wounded  or  nearly  killed  in  the  strife  of  her  suitors  and  of 
rival  tribes.  Among  the  Circassians  the  bride  is  noisily  captured  by 
night ;  but  only  after  the  wedding  preliminaries  have  been  settled, 
and  the  dowry  paid.  In  Khurdistan  the  bride  is  captured  by  day- 
light: her  young  friends  making  furious  defence  of  her.  In  truth, 
the  more  scratching,  screaming,  biting,  kicking,  slapping,  and  stone- 
throwing  that  the  damsels  do,  the  better  style  it  is  !  Among  the. 
African  tribes  the  bride  is  generally  carried  off  by  force,  although 
the  families  may  have  peaceably  exchanged  the  wedding  gifts.  We 
may  safely  say  that  among  almost  all  the  Tartar,  Sclavic,  and  Scan- 
dinavian races,  marriage  is  now,  or  has  been  until  lately,  by  capture ; 
as,  for  instance,  among  Mongols,  the  Caucasus  people,  the  Kalmucks, 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  503 

Kirghiz,  and  anciently  in  Poland,  Sweden,  Finland,  and  Muscovy. 
Two  centuries  ago,  in  Prussia,  the  wife  was  first  stolen  by  the  young 
man:  his  father  having  strictly  charged  him  whom  to  capture.  This 
sapient  parent  then  went  to  the  maid's  sire  and  politely  requested 
that  his  dear  boy  might  keep  his  booty  ;  and  the  contract  was  made, 
and  a  grand  wedding  followed.  As  late  as  1802  Sampson  informs 
us  that  in  Ireland,  in  the  hilly  countries,  a  marriage  '  was  but  a  lame 
exploit,'  unless  the  groom  showed  himself  of  spirit  to  run  away  with 
his  bride.  This  gave  room  for  the  national  delights  Q{  quietly  arguing 
the  matter  with  sticks,  and  finally  sealing  the  reconciliation  with 
copious  usquebaugh.  Scotland,  England,  and  Wales,  all  have,  in 
the  rural  districts,  wedding  customs  which  are  plainly  relics  of  old 
Celtic  fashions  of  bride-capture." 

"  Is  marriage  a  civil  or  a  religious  ceremony?"  asked  Dora. 

"  In  nearly  all  civilized  countries  it  is  accompanied  by  religious 
forms.  In  Protestant  countries  marriage  is  regarded  as  a  civil  con- 
tract, made  in  the  presence  of  competent  witnesses,  and  is  entirely 
valid  if  no  religious  ceremony  accompanies  it ;  as,  for  instance,  mar- 
riage by  a  magistrate.  It  is  equally  valid  before  an  accredited  min- 
ister of  any  church.  In  some  sections  ministers  must  be  licensed  by 
the  State  before  they  can  perform  a  marriage  ceremony.  In  others 
the  groom  must  obtain  from  the  proper  civil  authority  a  marriage 
license,  which  he  shows  to  the  minister.  In  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries marriage  is  regarded  as  a  religious  ceremony.  The  Romish 
Church  esteems  it  a  sacrament,  and  does  not  approve  of  its  being 
meddled  with  by  the  civil  authority.  Under  the  present  government 
in  Italy  a  great  marriage-conflict  has  arisen  between  the  State  and 
the  church — the  State  insisting  upon  a  civil  ceremony  before  a  magis- 
trate, without  which  the  bridal  is  illegal,  the  children  illegitimate, 
and  inheritance  of  property  inadmissible.  The  State  is  quite  indif- 
ferent to  the  question  whether  the  parties  before  or  after  the  civil 
marriage  are  married  by  a  priest  or  minister.  But  the  Romish  clergy 
in  Italy  refuse  to  marry  sacramentally  couples  who  conform  to  the 
civil  law,  and  if  these  couples  accept  civil  marriage  the  cnurch  re- 


504  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

fuses  to  perform  its  ceremony,  and  at  the  same  time  refuses  to  con- 
sider them  lawfully  wedded  or  to  admit  them  to  church  privileges. 
Therefore,  an  enormous  number  of  Italian  families  are  living  either 
in  a  wedlock  disallowed  by  their  church  or  by  their  State. 

"In  France  during  the  Revolution  religious  ceremonies  at  espousals 
were  prohibited,  and  civil  marriages  only  were  legal.  Contracts  of 
marriage  are  now  made  in  France  first  before  a  magistrate,  and  then 
by  religious  ceremony — the  Roman  clergy  in  France  having  always 
been  more  amiable  and  amenable  to  State  laws  than  are  the  Italian 
clergy.  In  Germany  the  civil  marriage  is  also  demanded,  and  re- 
ligious ceremonies  are  afterward  at  the  pleasure  of  the  contracting 
parties.  Among  the  early  Christians  marriages  were  at  first  esteemed 
as  a  civil  contract,  the  chief  ceremony  being  the  accepting  and  lead- 
ing the  bride  to  her  new  home  in  the  presence  of  witnesses.  But 
gradually,  to  prevent  disorders  and  disputes,  the  church  assumed 
some  control,  and  it  became  customary  to  have  both  the  betrothal 
and  marriage  made  in  the  church  before  the  priest.  Many  of  the 
marriage  ceremonies  of  the  Christian  Church  were  developed  out  of 
the  customs  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  the  use  of  the  ring,  the 
making  of  vows,  and  the  priest's  blessing.  The  marriage  candles  in 
the  Roman  Church  are  the  successors  of  the  nuptial  torches  of  the 
Latins;  the  holy  water  is  the  ancient  aqua  lustrale ;  the  mass  takes 
the  place  of  the  lamb  sacrificed  by  the  Latin  priest.  It  was  about 
the  year  300  that  the  church  began  to  make  laws  concerning 
marriage." 

"What  was  the  ancient  Hebrew  ceremonial?"  asked  Catherine. 

"  The  betrothal  was  considered  as  binding  as  the  marriage  and 
preceded  the  marriage  by  some  little  time,  longer  or  less,  according 
to  the  age  of  the  parties.  After  the  betrothal  the  lady  was  '  an 
espoused  wife,'  but  not  '  a  married  wife.'  For  the  wedding  both  par- 
ties were  dressed  in  their  utmost  splendor;  the  bridegroom  was  waited 
upon  by  his  '  friend,'  who  arranged  all  things  for  him.  Generally 
after  dark,  the  groom,  accompanied  by  music,  torches,  and  troops  of 
friends,  went  to  claim  his  bride.  The  parents  with  much  pomp  de- 


THE  WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  505 

livered  her  to  him,  and,  uniting  her  train  of  friends  to  his,  they  set 
out  riding  or  walking  to  his  house,  generally  the  pair  going  under 
a  canopy,  and  their  way  being  accompanied  by  songs,  showering  of 
fruits,  flowers,  grain,  nuts,  money,  and  confections,  with  every  demon- 
stration of  gladness.  At  the  groom's  house  a  feast  was  prepared, 
lasting  longer  for  a  maid's  marriage  than  for  a  widow's,  and  often 
extending  for  fourteen  days.  Great  sums  were  lavished  on  these 
entertainments,  sometimes  the  groom  giving  '  wedding  robes '  to  all 
the  guests." 

"  Does  the  present  Jewish  wedding  differ  from  this? "  said  Laura. 

"  In  form,  but  not  in  the  desire  for  magnificence.  The  Jews  are 
famous  for  wedding  splendors.  Lavish  presents  are  made,  and  there 
is  much  music,  feasting  and  dancing.  For  the  ceremony  a  carpet, 
called  a  taleth,  is  spread  under  a  gorgeous  nuptial  canopy.  On  the 
taleth  stand  the  young  couple,  the  parents  and  the  rabbi.  The  can- 
opy is  of  crimson  velvet,  belongs  to  the  synagogue,  and  is  brought 
and  returned  by  the  synagogue  servants.  During  the  ceremony 
the  guests  hold  the  canopy  corners.  The  drinking  of  nuptial  wine 
and  the  breaking  of  the  glass  yet  remain  part  of  the  Jewish  cere- 
mony, as  do  the  use  of  the  ring  and  the  flower-crowns,  and  abundant 
perfumes." 

"Will  you  describe  a  Greek  marriage?"  asked  Harriet. 

"  The  betrothal  preceded  it  as  in  the  Hebrew  rite.  At  this  be- 
trothal the  dowry  was  settled  and  gifts  were  exchanged.  Then  on 
the  day  before  the  wedding  the  father  of  the  bride-elect  sacrificed  to 
the  gods  of  marriage — namely,  to  Pollux,  to  Hera,  to  Artemis,  and 
to  the  Fates.  To  the  Fates  the  bride  offered  a  lock  of  her  hair.  In 
some  Greek  countries  Zeus  also  received  a  sacrifice.  On  the  wed- 
ding-day the  bride  and  groom  must  each  bathe  in  water  brought  by 
a  boy  from  some  especial  fountain.  Then,  dressed  in  their  best,  they 
walked  in  a  procession  to  the  chosen  temple,  attended  by  singing 
friends ;  at  the  altar  they  were  crowned  with  ivy,  and  sacrifices  were 
made,  deities  invoked,  and  auguries  sought.  After  nightfall  the  bride 
was  placed  in  a  chariot,  drawn  usually  by  oxen,  and  escorted  to  her 


506  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

husband's  home.  At  the  door  stood  youths  and  maids  with  nuptial 
torches,  singing  hymns  sacred  to  marriage." 

"  Did  the  Latin  ceremony  differ  from  this?  "  asked  Thomas. 

"  This  Greek  ceremony  differed  in  different  ages  and  various  parts 
of  Greece,  but  probably  not  materially.  The  Latin  form  was  some- 
thing varied  from  the  Greek.  There  were  several  forms  of  mar- 
riage among  the  Romans,  as  the  age,  the  class,  and  the  manners 
of  the  time  changed.  The  entire  Roman  nation  allowed  no  marriage 
without  augmy.  The  ring  was  given  at  betrothal,  the  contract 
made  between  the  families,  and  the  dowry  settled. 

"On  the  wedding-day  the  bride's  hair  was  rolled  upon  her  head 
a  la  the  goddess  Diana ;  then  she  put  on  a  long  white  robe  with  a 
purple  fringe  or  border :  this  was  girded  at  the  waist  with  a  belt  of 
white  zvool.  The  lady  wore  a  wreath  of  verbena,  plucked  by  her- 
self, her  shoes  were  yellow,  her  veil  was  yellow :  she  had  flung  over 
her  shoulder  a  stola,  and  a  peplum,  or  cloak.  The  groom  wore 
his  toga  and  a  laurel  wreath.  The  marriage  was  at  the  door  of  the 
house,  where  a  sheep  skin  was  laid  down  for  the  couple  to  stand 
upon.  A  woman  dressed  as  Juno  Pronuba,  the  patroness  of  mar- 
riage, stood  by  the  bride.  An  altar  was  set  up  at  the  door  of  the 
bride's  house,  and  there  the  priest  sacrificed  a  sheep  or  lamb  with 
sprinkled  incense.  The  vestal  virgins  stood  near,  with  a  cake  made 
of  flour,  sweet  wine,  and  salt.  Ten  witnesses  were  required  to  be 
present.  The  bride  held  in  her  right  hand  three  ears  of  wheat :  her 
parents  and  the  groom's  parents  stood  by,  and  the  priest  having  sac- 
rificed, blessed  the  nuptial  bond.  The  marriage  procession  then  set 
out  from  the  bride's  house  to  the  husband's  house  :  the  groom  usually 
going  thither  first  with  his  friends,  and  the  bride  being  escorted  to 
him  at  the  edge  of  evening.  Before  her  marched  boys  whose  parents 
were  living ;  a  maiden  friend  carried  a  flowering  branch ;  on  either 
side  the  bride  came  boys  bearing  her  spindle  and  distaff;  other 
friends  carried  five  wax  candles.  The  groom's  house  was  found  il- 
luminated and  adorned  with  flowers.  At  the  doorway  the  bride 
paused  and  tied  white  wool  upon  the  posts  to  keep  off  evil  omens; 


THE   WORLD'S   WEDDING  DAY.  507 

then  the  groom's  friends  who  stood  near  caught  her  up  in  their  arms 
and  lifted  her  within  the  door.  Her  husband  met  her,  bringing 
vases  of  fire  and  water.  These  she  touched,  saying :  '  Ubi  tu  Caius, 
ego  Caia : '  *  Where  thou  art  Caius,  I  am  Caia.'  Then  the  groom 
gave  her  the  household  keys  and  a  kiss.  After  this  a  banquet  was 
served,  and  the  musicians  played,  and  a  choir  sang  the  Talassio,  or 
wedding-lay." 

"We  get  hints  of  other  customs  accompanying  marriage  among 
the  Romans,"  said  John  Frederick.  "  I  suppose  they  were  accesso- 
ries of  this  central  ceremony?" 

"Such  as  the  binding  of  fillets,  the  throwing  of  nuts,  the  seeking 
for  omens,  and  so  on.  One  of  the  most  curious  relics  of  ancient 
marriage  we  find  on  one  of  the  old  monuments  of  Egypt.  This 
gives  the  marriage  pledge  made  before  the  priest  in  the  Temple: 
'  Patria,  son  of  Pchelchous,  whose  mother  is  Tahet,  says  to  the  woman 
Taontem,  daughter  of  Relon,  and  whose  mother  is  Tanetem,  I  have 
accepted  thee  for  wife.'  He  then  enumerates  his  gifts :  among  others 
ten  shekels  as  dowry,  then  thirty-six  oboli,  yearly,  for  toilet-money, 
and  as  much  for  pin-money.  Then  he  pledges  himself  to  make  her 
eldest  son  his  heir;  and  he  declares  the  value  of  his  property,  and 
gives  her  a  mortgage  on  it  as  security  that  he  will  not  tire  of,  nor 
neglect  her :  the  priest  then  signs  the  contract.  In  ancient  Assyria 
girls  were  auctioned  off  on  certain  days :  beauties  got  no  dowries, 
plain  girls  had  one.  Yet,  though  marriage  was  so  strangely  con- 
tracted, the  Assyrian  wives  were  held  in  high  honor,  were  paramount 
in  their  households,  reverenced  and  obeyed  by  their  grown-up  chil- 
dren, and  often  had  extraordinary  marks  of  attention  paid  to  them." 

"You  spoke  of  unruly  practices  going  out  of  date  in  England 
with  the  marriage  of  George  the  Third,"  said  Catherine. 

"Until  then  wild  capers  of  throwing  shoes  and  stockings,  cutting 
up  garters,  forcing  the  couple  to  drink  possets,  and  pelting  the  pair 
with  cake  and  other  condiments,  had  been  usual  in  even  royal  circles : 
all-  these  freaks  are  now  banished.  But  with  this  we  must  finish  our 
long  discussion  of  marriages." 


608  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"Only  one  word  more,"  said  John  Frederick:  "you  spoke  of  for- 
bidden marriages:  what  are  they  ?  " 

"Various  states  and  churches  have  framed  laws  forbidding  mar- 
riages within  certain  affinities:  some  of  these  laws  have  their  basis 
in  Scriptural  prohibitions  and  natural  feelings,  others  are  arbitrary. 
The  Romish  Church  forbids  wedlock  not  only  between  certain 
degrees  of  blood  relations,  as  cousins,  but  with  relations  by  mar- 
riage ;  and  also  between  those  whom  they  call  religiously  related  by 
being  sponsors  for  the  same  child.  Within  these  degrees  special 
permit  is  demanded  for  marriage :  so  King  Henry  Eighth,  by  special 
permit  or  dispensation  from  the  Pope,  married  Catherine  of  Aragon, 
the  widow  of  his  elder  brother;  so  Anne  of  Bretagne  having  been 
married  by  proxy  to  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  the  Pope  was  per- 
suaded to  say  that  her  nuptials  were  a  court  pretence,  and  gave  her 
a  dispensation  to  marry  the  King  of  France.  In  England  marriage 
with  a  deceased  wife's  sister  is  unlawful,  and  many  of  our  American 
clergy  discountenance  it  and  will  not  perform  the  ceremony,  while 
several  clergy  making  such  a  marriage  have  been  suspended  from 
their  ministry:  yet  it  is  not  contrary  to  the  Scripture." 

"Did  you  mention  marriage  taxes?"  asked  Peter. 

"Yes;  King  William  III.  in  1695  levied  a  tax  on  marriages,  bap- 
tisms, and  burials:  a  very  dangerous  tax,  destructive  to  the  morals 
and  prosperity  of  a  nation.  This  was  renewed  in  1784:  the  tax  was 
four  shillings,  or  about  ninety  cents.  The  converse  of  such  a  tax  is 
a  bounty,  that  under  various  sovereigns  has  been  bestowed  in  France 
and  other  countries,  on  parents  with  numerous  children,  or  dowries 
conferred  by  the  State  on  poor  maidens  to  enable  them  to  marry. 
Where  marriages  are  only  legal  when  made  before  priests,  and  no 
restriction  is  laid  on  their  fees  by  the  State,  great  troubles  have  risen. 
M.  Ancizar,  a  Spanish  political  economist,  complains  much  of  the 
falling  off,  or  slow  increase  of  population  in  New  Grenada,  and  the  loss 
of  family  life  and  ties,  with  the  increase  of  illegitimacy,  and  the  conse- 
quent ruin  of  health  and  morals,  all  arising  from  the  heavy  marriage 
fees  demanded  by  the  priests.  He  carefully  shows  that  where  a  far- 


THE    WORLD'S   WEDDING-DAY.  -r09 

sighted  and  liberal-souled  priest  remits  these  fees,  or  makes  them 
merely  nominal  in  the  case  of  the  poor,  the  canton  improves  in 
morals,  population,  health,  and  prosperity." 

"  Was  polygamy  or  monogamy  the  practice  of  early  nations  ?  " 
asked  Thomas. 

"  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  nations  remarkable  for  their  vigor, 
civilization,  long  existence,  and  their  powerful  influence  over  the 
world,  have  been  nations  that  in  their  early  history,  at  least,  were 
monogamous.  The  Hebrews,  Greeks,  Romans,  early  Egyptians, 
and  Saxons,  had  at  first  the  custom  of  taking  only  one  wife.  From  the 
influence  of  surrounding  peoples,  polygamy  crept  into  many  of  these 
races.  Barbarous  tribes  generally  practise  polygamy.  There  are 
some  clans  where,  instead  of  one  man  having  many  wives,  one  woman 
has  several  husbands,  who  are  supposed  to  live  in  peace  with  each 
other,  and  each  provide  part  of  her  individual  and  family  expenses." 

"  I  would  like  to  ask,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  to  whom  children 
are  supposed  most  to  belong,  to  their  mother,  or  their  father?  " 

"  Legislation  is  so  various  on  this  question  that  it  leads  us  to 
infer  that  human  consciousness  recognizes  as  fact  that  children  be- 
long equally  to  both  parents.  Among  all  nations  the  status  of  the 
mother  governs  that  of  her  child,  a  slave's  children  are  slaves,  a  free 
woman's  are  free,  whether  the  father  be  free  or  slave.  But  a  child 
born  on  the  high  seas  is  a  citizen  of  the  country  of  its  father.  A  man 
cannot  control  the  persons  of  his  children  born  out  of  wedlock, 
though  he  can  be  compelled  to  contribute  to  their  support.  Such 
children  are  not  heirs  of  their  father,  but  are  heirs  of  their  mother. 
In  some  countries,  royal  descent  has  always  been  counted  in  the 
female  line;  thus  the  son  of  a  daughter  inherits  rather  than  the  son 
of  a  son.  But  no  doubt  the  divine  idea,  evidenced  in  the  establish- 
ment of  households  by  monogamous  marriage  was,  that  the  two 
parents  with  equal  right  and  love  should  train  up  their  children  to 
serve  God  and  help  their  fellows." 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 

PRACTICAL   RELIGION. 

ND  to-morrow  you  are  off  for  your  last  term  at  col- 
lege, John  Frederick  ?  "  said  Laura. 

"  Yes.      You    may   think   of  me   busy   as  the 
busiest.     Early  in  the  morning,  flying  round  to  be 
at  chapel,  sharp  on  the  minute ;  and  able  to  give  a 
good  account  of  myself  on  Sundays." 

"Where  my  cousin  goes  to  college,"  says  Thomas,  "they  need 
not  be  at  church  or  chapel  exercises,  unless  they  like." 
"  Th'at's  right,"  said  Peter. 

"  I  have  never  handled  you  young  fellows  with  gloves,"  said  the 
Stranger,  sharply;  "and  I  must  say,  Peter,  I  am  surprised  to  hear 
you  talking  such  arrant  humbug." 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Peter,  flushing, "  it  does  not  seem  to  me  just  right  to 
interfere  with  a  man's  religion.  He  should  judge  for  himself  in  that." 
"  What  would  be  the  fortune  of  a  college,  where  there  was  no 
settled  curriculum,  where  every  student  studied  what  he  chose,  where 
the  pupils  selected  their  own  text-books,  and  were  not  required  to 
learn  any  lessons,  unless  they  liked,  and  need  not  come  to  class  un- 
less they  so  preferred  ?" 

"  Evidently  it  would  be  a  college  without  pupils,"  said  Dora. 
"  What  would  be  the  credit  of  a  college,  where  no  regard  was  paid 
to  matters  of  health?     Suppose  that  the  rooms  were  unlighted,  filled 
with  foul  air,  damp,  the  drains  mere  breeding-places  of  typhoid  fever, 
no  attention  at  all  paid  to  the  physical  condition  of  the  inmates?" 

"  Such  an  institution  would  be  a  public  nuisance,"  said  Thomas, 
"and  could  not  long  exist." 
(510) 


PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  511 

"  Then  in  such  matters  as  regard  health  and  intellectual  training, 
people  may  be  under  laws,  ordained  not  by  themselves,  but  by 
others,  and  on  these  laws  colleges  and  schools  maintain  themselves : 
in  them  is  the  beginning  of  their  strength.  And  yet  Peter  denies 
the  right  of  institutions  to  have  laws  regarding  religious  exercises, 
and  the  inculcation  of  piety." 

"  But,"  remonstrated  Peter,  "  a  man's  soul  seems  to  me  not  a  thing 
to  be  meddled  with  :  it  is  so  entirely  his  own  private  property." 

"  No  more  his  peculiarly  private  property  than  his  backbone,  or 
his  digestive  apparatus,  or  his  memory,  or  his  logical  faculty,  with 
all  of  which,  law,  and  our  friends  and  guardians,  seem  to  have  a 
right  to  intermeddle." 

"  Well,"  said  Peter,  manfully  standing  up  for  himself,  "it  is  evident 
that  care  and  training  exercised  over  us  by  others  may  make  us 
physically  healthy,  or  intellectually  well  informed.  But  no  amount 
of  such  care  of  others  can  make  us  Christians  without  our  consent: 
there  we  have  to  act  for  ourselves." 

"That  is  true,  Peter,  and  yet  our  training  and  surroundings 
may  be  such  as  to  set  us  in  the  line  of  right  feeling  and  choosing  in 
our  own  behalf.  The  soul,  especially  in  youth,  is  plastic,  and  easily 
moulded  by  impressions  from  without;  and  right  forces  being 
brought  to  bear  on  it,  are  likely  to  produce  right  results.  Now  the 
end  to  be  attained  is  so  great  and  important,  that  it  is  certainly 
worth  while  to  use  every  means  to  secure  it." 

"I  think  you  might  rather  argue  that,  in  reference  to  parents,  and 
their  home-training  of  their  children,  than  of  strangers,  such  as 
college  faculties,"  said  Peter. 

"  College  trustees  and  faculties  must  be  beings  possessed  of  com- 
mon-sense," said  the  Stranger,  "and  one  of  the  first  dictates  of 
common-sense  is,  that  we  should  pay  the  most  attention  to  that 
which  is  highest,  and  be  the  most  zealous  in  securing  for  ourselves 
and  others  that  which  is  most  important  to  well-being.  Now,  Peter, 
it  is  evident  that  no  matter  how  magnificent  a  physique  we  may 
obtain  or  attain,  it  will  scarcely  last  us  a  century.  And  what  then? 


512  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Good  it  is  while  it  lasts ;  but  we  must  inevitably  part  with  it  at  the 
grave's  mouth,  and  we  have  an  interior  assurance  that  we  ourselves 
shall  exist,  and  face  a  future,  and  enter  into  other  conditions,  with- 
out it.  .  To  provide  for  this  future,  and  these  conditions,  seems 
merely  common-sense.  We  may  by  diligent  improvement  of  our 
minds  reach  lofty  intellectual  heights.  But  we  know  that  every 
mental  advancement  increases  our  responsibilities  in  serving  God 
and  our  fellows,  and  in  making  ready  for  that  infinite  intellectual 
existence  that  lies  outside  the  boundaries  of  time.  Common-sense 
would  assure  us  that  it  is  either  rash  madness  or  dumb  idiocy  to 
not  prepare  for  that  life;  and  it  is  extremest  folly  to  accumulate 
knowledge  and  at  the  same  time  render  it  dangerous  by  neglecting 
that  which  shall  make  it  wisely  effective.  All  this  college  authori- 
ties should  and  do  recognize,  and  to  equip  their  pupils  for  that  which 
lies  beyond,  which  is  higher  and  wider  than  mere  physical  power,  or 
mental  acquisition,  they  require  an  attendance  upon  the  ordinary 
exercises  of  religion,  giving  opportunities,  which  students  should 
embrace,  for  culturing  the  soul  as  well  as  the  mind  and  body." 

Said  the  deacon,  who  was  sitting  among  the  young  people  :  "While 
this  is  true  of  school  and  college  authorities,  it  is,  as  Peter  sug- 
gested, very  especially  the  duty  of  parents  to  train  in  piety.  And 
to  me  it  has  always  seemed  that  a  home  without  piety  is  pretty  much 
like  a  nut  without  a  kernel,  or  a  fair-looking  tree  all  decayed  at  the 
heart.  If  we  have  not  piety  we  have  nothing  to  go  on'' 

"Very  true,"  said  the  Stranger;  "and  to  continue  the  theme,  as 
we  have  opened  it :  college  faculties  as  soon  as  they  cut  themselves 
loose  from  the  Bible,  and  from  a  recognition  of  God  and  God's  law, 
have  'nothing  to  go  on1  to  maintain  their  own  laws.  If  laws  are 
mere  arbitrary  enactments  of  one  man  for  his  fellows,  if  rule  is  the 
mere  conquest  of  the  weaker  by  the  stronger,  then  all  that  we  have 
of  government  is  tyranny.  But  the  fact  is,  that  God  is  the  original 
and  rightful  authority,  and  from  him,  as  from  a  fountain,  flow  power, 
government,  law.  '  The  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God/  and 
by  him  'Justice  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain.'  " 


PRACTICAL  XKLIGION.  513 

"  You  will  observe."  said  the  lawyer,  who  had  been  an  interested 
listener,  "that  if  law  and  the  judicial  authority  among  men  had  no 
higher  source  than  man  himself,  the  death  penalty  would  be  merely 
a  formal  murder." 

"  Some,  yes,  many,  call  it  that  now,"  said  George. 

"Because  they  do  not  recognize  the  true  source  of  executive 
power,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  We  cannot  confer  what  we  do  not  possess. 
Man,  as  a  creature,  has  no  rights  over  the  life  of  his  fellow-men.  He 
has  rights  over  the  life  of  the  lower  orders  of  creation,  for  God  gave 
him  the  brute  creation  for  his  use  and  behoof.  Who  ever  blamed  a 
farmer  for  selling  beef  cattle  to  the  butcher  ?  But  if  the  farmer  in  a 
rage  kills  his  hired  servant,  who  fails  to  see  his  intense  criminality  ? 
God,  who  gave  man's  life,  has  reserved  to  himself  the  sole  right  to 
take  that  life.  Now  he  has  seen  it  to  be  needful  to  restrain  men 
from  bloodshed,  by  announcing  the  penalty  of  death  against  mur- 
derers. God  works  through  men  as  his  instruments,  and  when  the 
appointed  authorities  of  a  land  in  solemn  tribunal,  after  careful  in- 
vestigation of  a  cause,  find  a  man  guilty  of  murder,  and  sentence  him 
to  death,  they  act  for  God,  their  voice  is  the  voice  of  God,  and  from 
him  they  received  the  power  to  take  away  a  life  that  is  forfeit." 

"Once,"  said  Peter,  "people  were  executed  for  forgery,  theft,  and 
small  offences." 

"  It  is  true,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  man,  having  received  a  cer- 
tain authority,  in  the  sinfulness  of  his  nature,  wrests  or  overstrains 
that  authority.  The  fault  is  his,  not  of  the  law." 

"And,  too,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  after  the  most  careful  investiga- 
tion men  have  been  pronounced  guilty,  when  they  were  innocent, 
and  they  have  died  unjustly." 

"Because  men  are  not  omniscient,"  said  the  minister.  "Doing 
our  best  we  are  yet  liable  to  err.  These  are  of  the  sins  that  God 
will  not  lay  to  our  charge ;  the  imperfections  of  even  our  right  or 
holy  things.  But  these  terrible  mistakes  do  not  weaken  nor  re- 
move the  commandment,  '  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man 
shall  his  blood  be  shed.'  'The  land  cannot  be  cleansed  of  blood, 


514  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

but  by  the  blood  of  him  who  sheddeth  it.'  '  Ye  shall  take  no  satis- 
faction for  the  life  of  a  murderer  that  is  guilty  of  death :  but  he  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death." 

"  There  has  been  proclaimed  a  mawkish  sentimentality  about  the 
death  penalty,  that  has  resulted  in  banishing  it  from  some  States," 
said  the  lawyer.  "  But  setting  aside  the  divine  command,  and  the 
duty  that  lies  on  man  to  vindicate  the  power  and  honor  of  God  by 
solemnly  executing  the  destroyer  of  God's  image,  we  have  only  to 
look  at  the  fact,  that  murders  and  violent  deaths  increase,  when  the 
penalty  of  death  is  abrogated,  and  we  shall  be  convinced  that  not 
only  justice,  but  mercy,  demands  the  murderer's  death." 

"A  new  and  very  sure  way  of  escaping  the  extreme  penalty  of  the 
law,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  is  to  plead  insanity  for  the  criminal." 

"  It  has  been  said,  and  in  my  view,  well  said,"  replied  the  lawyer, 
"  that  where  insanity  develops  in  the  line  of  murder,  and  the  evidence 
of  insanity  is  a  thirst  for  innocent  blood,  this  kind  of  a  maniac  should 
be  executed,  on  the  same  grounds  that  a  mad  dog  is  killed,  not  as 
a  moral  spectacle,  nor  as  a  lesson  to  other  dogs,  but  as  a  conserva- 
tion of  innocent  lives." 

"  You  will  remember,"  said  the  minister,  "  that  the  law  of 
Moses  was,  that  even  the  beast  that  slew  a  man  must  be  put  to 
death.  This  was  not  only  to  prevent  the  beast  from  slaying  other 
men,  but  also  to  show  the  Lord's  indignation  at  the  destruction  of 
man  made  in  his  image,  always  excepted  the  judicial  slaying,  by 
him  ordered  for  the  cause  of  murder." 

"  It  has  to  come  be  considered  humane  to  assert  insanity  as  the 
invariable  cause  of  murder  or  suicide,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  but  it  is 
weakness  and  inhumanity  in  point  of  fact ;  for  this  sentiment  has  re- 
moved many  of  the  restraints  of  lawlessness,  and  permitted  many 
murders,  which  else  had  been  wholesomely  restrained. 

"  I  would  remind  you  also,  that  it  is  now  not  generally  considered 
a  '  reasonable  excuse  for  murder,'  that  the  murderer  was  drunk. 
But  while  he  is  drunk  he  is  truly  insane.  Now  why  should  one 
form  of  insanity  serve  better  as  an  excuse  than  another?  If  we 


PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  515- 

plead  that  the  drunkard  is  responsible  for  his  insanity,  in  that  he  took 
the  liquor  that  produced  it,  remember  that  government  licensee! 
some  one  to  sell  that  producing  cause,  and  tempt  him  beyond,  his. 
strength." 

"  Is  the  murder  of  a  ruler  worse  than  any  other?" 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  the  lawyer,  "that  the  dignity  of  the  victim,, 
and  the  fact  that  on  one  hand  he  represents  divine  headship,  power, 
and  executive  personality,  and  on  the  other  he  represents  the  nation 
as  a  whole,  makes  the  person  of  a  ruler,  whether  king,  emperor,  or 
president,  peculiarly  sacred,  and  that  not  only  the  taking  of  his  life, 
but  the  attempting  it,  should  be  punished  with  death.  From  the 
violent  death  of  a  ruler  a  certain  amount  of  anarchy  results.  The 
blow  struck  at  him  is  a  blow  struck  at  the  nation.  The  nation  is  a 
great  individuality,  and  the  assassin  who  endeavors  to  destroy  the 
chief  magistrate  of  a  nation  attacks  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
entire  commonwealth.  For  this  reason  those  who  endeavor  to  cut 
off  the  head  of  a  nation,  though  they  do  not  succeed  in  the  attempt,, 
should  yet  be  visited  with  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law,  as  this 
would  be  for  the  greatest  safety  and  good  of  the  whole  body  of  the 
citizens." 

"  From  all  this,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  we  see  that  wherever  order 
is  to  be  maintained  or  authority  exerted,  the  higher  authority  of  the 
Divine  must  be  promulgated,  else  government  becomes  without 
respect,  and  anarchy  results.  Those  institutions  where  all  religion 
is  ignored  will  inevitably  run  through  a  course  of  rebellions  and  law- 
lessness, and  having  conspicuously  failed  to  secure  the  ends  of  proper 
training,  for  which  they  were  ostensibly  founded,  they  will  perish. 
Without  the  Moral  Law  as  the  co-worker  with  the  alphabet,  without 
the  Bible  as  the  first  and  noblest  use  of  the  alphabet,  without  Sab- 
baths to  stay  the  hurrying  course  of  man  in  merely  earthly  pursuits,, 
and  set  him  thinking  of  eternal  necessities,  ruin  must  come  upon  the 
finest  civilizations  and  their  products.  Religion  is  the  true  vital  force 
of  civilization." 

"  If  all  that  is  so,"  said  Samuel,  "  where  is  the  sense  of  a  man's. 


51«  PRACTICAL    LIFE. 

being  ashamed  of  being  religious,  and  why  should  young  men  be 
fearful  of  being  thought  interested  in  religion  ?  " 

"  Why,  indeed,  since  this  is  the  strongest  and  loftiest  subject  that 
can  be  presented  to  them  ?"  said  the  Stranger. 

"And  why  should  they  be  proud  of  entertaining  what  are  called 
loose,  liberal,  free-thinking  notions,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  if  it  is 
true  that  these  are  subversive  of  law  and  order,  and  really  indicate  a 
lack  of  sound  thinking  and  tend  to  ultimate  ruin?  " 

"These  notions  in  young  men,"  said  the  Stranger,  "invariably 
arise  from  a  lack  of  honest  investigation  and  independent  thought, 
and  careful  research.  Young  men  cut  loose  from  ancestral  piety, 
and  from  the  religious  instructions  of  their  early  years,  and  say  they 
1  are  out  of  leading-strings/  and  '  are  thinking  for  themselves/  while 
the  truth  is  that  they  have  been  carried  away  by  some  loud-mouthed 
demagogue,  or  some  subtle  author,  or  some  silver-tongued  orator, 
who  has  arrogated  to  himself  the  right  to  do  their  thinking  and  judg- 
ing. These  callow  doubters  quote  his  sayings  and  follow  servilely 
in  his  reasonings,  not  daring  to  question  or  investigate  for  them- 
selves, and  then  grow  blatant  about  being  independent  thinkers !  It 
would  be  ludicrous,  and  rack  one  with  '  inextinguishable  laughter,' 
did  not  one  have  that  realizing  sense  of  some  coming,  awful  hour, 
when  these  weak  imitators  shall  awake  to  the  knowledge  that  they 
liave  been  betrayed  to  their  destruction." 

"  Why,  do  you  really  think,"  said  Catherine,  "  that  these  young 
men,  and  even  young  women,  who  reject  the  Scriptures  and  the 
teachings  of  religion,  are  not  thinking  and  arguing  for  themselves,  do 
not  know  what  they  are  talking  about?  " 

.  "  That  is  exactly  what  I  think — what  I  know  of  a  surety.  They 
are  merely  following  some  flashy  talker,  who  has  announced  their 
.opinions  for  them  ;  they  are  copyists,  without  knowing  it.  Not  one 
•of  them  has  carefully  searched  the  Scripture  through  with  the  aids 
:of  historic  and  scientific  lights — with  any  of  the  simplest  expositions, 
such  as  they  would  bring  to  bear  on  any  disputed  geological,  geo- 
graphical or  botanical  question  which  they  were  studying.  Truth  is, 


PRACTICAL   RELIGION.  $1,<T 

they  do  not  and  will  not  study  religion  at  all.  They  .reject  it  uniii- 
vestigated  at  the  beck  of  some  ranter."  1ft  <},•'  /  '  . 

"  I  have  seen  a  few  of  these  people,"  said  John  Frederick,  "and  I 
have  been  astonished  at  their  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures,  displayed 
freely  in  their  attacks  on  them ;  they  evidently  were  making  un- 
founded charges." 

"  Where  did  they  get  them  ?  Stole  them  from  some  one  else,  and 
then  boasted  of — independent  thinking  !  " 

"  This  you  assert  of  young  men  who  are  recklessly  following  a> 
multitude  to  do  evil,  and  I  think  you  are  quite  right :  it  coincides 
with  my  experience,"  said  the  doctor,  who  had  joined  the  group, 
"  But  what  of  these  older  ones,  the  leaders,  whom  they  are  fol- 
lowing ?  " 

"  I  would  have  you  notice  a  few  things  about  the  method  of  their 
attacks  on  religion,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"First.  They  deal  much  in  bold,  unsupported,  unargued  contradic- 
tions. Now,  it  is  one  thing  to  deny :  quite  another  to  prove  the 
denial  good. 

"Second.  They  attack  much  by  sarcasm.  Sarcasm  is  a  weapon 
very  easy  to  some  kinds  of  mind.  It  is  also  a  very  brilliant  weapon, 
and  dazzles  many.  It  is  a  sort  of  mental  sleight-of-hand  that  wields 
it.  We  can  be  sarcastic  about  the  simplest  and  most  evident  truths. 
It  would  be  very  easy  to  deny  that  the  world  is  round.  It  would 
remain  to  be  proved  that  it  was  not  round,  ami  to  account  for  cer- 
tain peculiar  phenomena  occasioned  by  its  roundness.  We  can  see 
that  a  disbeliever  in  the  earth's  rotundity,  if  he  had  wit  and  sharp- 
ness of  speech,  could  indulge  in  a  fine  flow  of  sarcasm  against  the 
belief  in  the  spherical  shape  of  our  planet.  But  after  all  his  sar- 
casm, the  proof  of  his  theory  would  still  remain  to  be  made,  and 
certain  stubborn  physical  facts  would  remain  to  be  accounted  for. 

"Third.  Notice  that  these  fierce  opposers  of  religion  are  full  of 
bitterness.  They  cannot  meet  and  challenge  religion  in  any  spirit  of 
courtesy,  of  charity,  of  reasonableness.  In  all  human  history  error 
has  been  fierce  and  bitter.  Truth  can  afford  to  be  gracipus.  This 


518  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

bitterness,  this  fury  of  onset,  is  something  very  different  from  the 
assured  valor  of  confident  right.  Where  malignancy  peeps  out  in 
every  sentence^  take  warning  and  investigate. 

"Fourth.  You  will  observe  that  these  leaders  of  a  crusade  against 
piety  are  utterly  unfair  in  their  methods.  They  undertake  an  attack 
•on  Scripture,  and  they  misquote  Scripture  (being  quite  sure  that 
none  of  their  hearers  have  their  Bibles  with  them).  They  deliber- 
ately wrest  or  interpolate  the  text,  or  they  leave  out  a  portion,  or 
they  ignore  the  context.  They  also  make  false  historic  statements. 

"Fifth.  They  assume  much.  They  undertake  to  disprove  a  Scrip- 
tural statement  by  means  of  some  scientific  statement,  which  in  itself 
is  only  half  proved,  and  yet  remains,  even  among  scientists,  on 
debatable  ground.  Yet  these  opposers  of  religion  seize  these  half- 
explained  things,  these  suppositions,  these  questions  put  forth  by 
science  as  subjects  for  discussion,  and  asserting  them  as  proved  facts, 
.•seek  to  annihilate  religious  truth  with  them.  But  by  the  time  their 
gaping  followers  fancy  that  the  work  is  wonderfully  done,  science 
coolly  turns  about  and  declares,  that  having  arrived  at  a  new  point 
in  her  investigations,  this  former  half  statement  is  disproved ;  thus 
Bathybius,  asserted  as  mother  and  origin  of  all  life,  hidden  under  the 
deepest  seas,  turned  out  to  be — chalk. 

"Sixth.  These  are  but  marks  whereby  you  may  know  these 
teachers,  and  be  wary  to  challenge  their  teachings.  These,  in  them, 
are  effects,  whereof  the  cause  is  :  a  soul  in  an  agony  of  unrest.  At 
the  bar  of  their  own  inner  consciousness  they  are  tried  and  con- 
demned ;  and  never  a  criminal  spoke  well  of  the  law !  That  con- 
sciousness of  duty,  of  human  responsibility,  of  future  retribution, 
good  and  ill,  of  the  soul's  immortal  estate,  these  which  are  of  man's 
innate  ideas,  born  in  him  when  he  was  born,  developing,  in  spite  of 
him,  as  he  develops,  which,  though  denied,  cannot  be  eradicated,  have 
broken  out  in  this  contradiction,  this  fury  of  negations.  It  is  a  pity 
that  hundreds  should  suffer  themselves  to  be  made  holocausts  on  the 
altar  of  some  one  man's  spiritual  pain  and  wrath,  which  vents  itself 
in  attacking  God,  instead  of  finding  peace  by  seeking  God  " 


PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  519 

"  You  remind  me,"  said  the  doctor,  "  of  an  incident  that  once 
greatly  impressed  me.  I  was  on  a  steamer  going  down  the  St.  Law- 
rence :  among  the  passengers  was  a  loud  and  fluent  talker,  who  set 
up  for  an  atheist.  He  cared  more  for  disseminating  his  opinions 
than  for  viewing  the  scenery,  but  especially  broke  forth  at  dinner, 
and  occupied  the  time,  to  the  disgust  of  most  of  his  hearers, 
asserting  among  other  things  that  religion  was  an  exploded  supersti- 
tion; that  men  had  outgrown  it;  that  in  another  fifty  years  Bibles, 
churches,  and  piety  would  be  things  of  the  outworn  past.  '  They 
claim,'  he  said,  fiercely,  'that  their  Christianity  shall  become  a  moun- 
tain, and  fill  the  whole  earth.  A  stone  growing  ?  Yes  ;  it  will  grow 
as  much  as  any  other  stone  ! '  and  so  on.  He  looked  about  for  the 
effect  of  his  words,  and  met  the  eyes  of  a  lady  whose  whole  face  ex- 
pressed horror.  He  said,  flippantly :  '  Miss,  I  seem  to  have  alarmed 
you.  You  look  frightened.'  '  I  am,'  she  responded,  promptly,  *  hor- 
ribly frightened — FOR  YOU.  "Whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall 
be  broken  ;  but,  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  shall  grind  him  to 
powder"  '  She  did  not  wait  for  the  effect  of  her  words.  They  were 
spoken,  not  too  loud,  but  with  a  terrible  intensity.  With  the  last 
syllable  she  rose  and  sauntered  out  of  the  saloon.  A  profound  si- 
lence fell  on  the  company,  and  during  this  our  loud  blasphemer 
slipped  into  his  state-room.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I  heard  one  gen- 
tleman say  to  another:  'Grind  him  to  powder /'  What  a  fearful 
expression,  and  how  true  :  all  history  confirms  it.  Where  are  Egypt, 
Assyria,  Chaldea,  Greece,  Rome,  all  the  nations  that  forgot  God  ? 
Ground  to  powder!  'The  spider  weaveth  her  web  over  all  the 
pleasant  palaces  ! '  Where  are  the  bold  blasphemers,  from  Pharaoh 
and  Sennacherib  to  Julian  the  Apostate,  and  down  to  Voltaire  and 
Tom  Paine  ?  Ground  to  powder.  And  yet  men  dare  to  follow  in 
their  steps." 

"You  all  know,"  said  Peter,  "that  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
atheism,  and  that  I  am  a  respecter  of  religion  as  much  as  any  of  you  ; 
but  in  an  argument  I  am  always  one  to  '  take  the  other  side,'  and  if 
no  one  upheld  that,  where  would  we  have  any  argument  ?  Now  I  do 


520  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

not  wish  to  be  misjudged  in  continuing  this  theme.  Sir,  you  have 
spoken  of  independent  judgment,  and  of  young  cavillers  being  mere 
imitators ;  yet,  it  seems  to  me  that  those  who,  as  you  say,  are  from 
earliest  years  influenced  and  moulded  into  piety,  by  all  the  laws  ?nd 
associations  with  which  they  are  surrounded,  cannot  be  very  inde- 
pendent thinkers :  they  follow  in  a  beaten  track  long  prepared  for 
them." 

"Facts,  Peter,"  said  the  Stranger,  "are  the  most  powerful  of  argu- 
ments :  there  is  no  logic  like  their  logic.  Now  fact  is,  that  there 
have  been  no  more  forcible,  just,  and  original  thinkers  than  those 
who  have  been  educated  in  the  ways  of  evangelical  piety,  or  Biblical 
religion ;  and  this  is  because  the  Bible  develops  brain  power  and 
encourages  reasoning:  it  is  not  a  book  to  dwarf  mental  faculties. 
Those  who  have  been  habituated  to  study  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
make  the  Bible  the  rule  of  their  lives,  must  be  thinking  and  inde- 
pendent beings :  God  seeks  not  slaves,  but  sons." 

"  But  does  not  the  Bible  require  us  to  believe  many  things  that  we 
cannot  understand  ?  "  asked  Peter. 

"Truly  it  does  ;  but  there  are  not  things  contrary  to  reason,  but 
simply  above  the  grasp  of  our  reason  in  its  state  of  human  develop- 
ment It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  the  Book  containing  the  mind 
of  God  had  nothing  beyond  the  comprehension  of  creatures  here  on 
earth.  These  things  which  we  do  not  now  apprehend,  are  but  sug- 
gestions of  the  flights  of  which  our  minds  shall  be  capable  in  future 
ages." 

"  While  the  Bible  demands  that  we  accept  statements  that  we  can- 
not understand,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  science  does,  and  has  always 
done,  the  same." 

"That  is  very  true,"  said  the  doctor.  "Scientific  men  were 
obliged  to  accept  certain  facts,  the  reason  of  which  lay  beyond  their 
ken ;  but  when,  in  process  of  time,  the  reason  became  known,  these 
facts  appeared  very  simple  and  beautiful.  Thus,  before  Harvey  dis- 
covered the  circulation  of  the  blood,  physicians  recognized  very 
many  then  inexplicable  facts  about  the  human  body,  which  the  dis- 
covery of  the  laws  that  govern  circulation  made  very  clear." 


PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  521 

"The  circulation  of  the  blood  is  so  clearly  manifested  in  a  hun- 
dred ways,"  said  Thomas,  "  that  it  seems  strange  that  it  was  so  long 
undiscovered." 

"  Probably  that  is  the  way  in  which  we  shall,  in  the  immortal 
state,  regard  what  are  now  great  mysteries,"  said  the  Stranger. 

"The  law  of  the  attraction  of  gravitation,  exerted  while  concealed, 
caused  many  effects  that  men  admitted  without  knowing  their  why." 
said  the  doctor.  "  That  law  being  expounded  by  Newton,  the  fact^ 
were  no  more  assured,  but  they  were  understood.  Unknown  laws  and 
forces  operate  all  around  us.  Once  the  phenomena  of  electricity 
were  mysteries :  suggestive  of  diablerie  and  the  supernatural ;  now 
they  are  known,  and  we  do  not  believe  more  deeply  in  the  effect,  but 
we  understand  it  better.  While  yet  the  earth  was  supposed  to  be  a 
flat  and  fixed  surface,  many  celestial  phenomena  moved  the  wonder 
of  men :  they  did  not  deny  their  existence  and  recurrence,  because 
they  did  not  know  their  reason.  By  admitting  and  studying  them, 
men  at  last  reached  the  why.  A  great  deal  of  our  reasoning  and 
study  must  be  inductive :  we  meet  many  facts  before  we  know  their 
sub-lying  principle." 

"And  yet  I  have  found  in  the  Bible,"  said  Peter,  "  many  things,  or 
at  least  some  things,  which  seem  like  contradictions." 

"And  some  of  the  deep  things  of  God  will  seem  to  us  like  contra- 
dictions, until  we  get  a  wider  range  of  mental  powers,  and  a  higher 
outlook.  We  can  grasp  but  a  little  part  of  each  of  these  things, 
and  that  makes  them  seem  contradictory.  Just  think  for  a  moment 
how  many  are  the  scientific  facts,  that  to  the  ignorant  man  seem  the 
maddest  contradictions,  while  to  the  man  of  science  they  are  har- 
monies. But  even  from  her  wisest  votaries  science  demands 
acceptance  of  things  which  seem  contradictions.  So  that  ether, 
whose  waves  of  motion  are  light,  is  declared  to  be  at  once  the  solid- 
est  of  all  bodies,  and  the  most  nearly  immaterial !  Science  leads  her 
pupils  along  perfectly  logical  lines  of  thought,  until  they  face  each 
of  these  conclusions  !  What  then  ?  Acceptance.  It  will  be  made 
clear  by-and-by.  Mathematics,  the  most  exact  of  the  sciences,  in  its 


*22  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

highest  flights  reaches  most  nearly  the  domain  of  pure  spirit.  The 
mysteries  of  nature  press  on  us  an  inexplicable  fourth  dimension ; 
and  chemistry  sits  and  marvels,  why,  when  a  solution  of  permuriate 
of  mercury  and  a  volatile  alkali  are  poured  together,  a  white  sedi- 
ment results,  instead  of  the  re'd  oxide  of  mercury.  If  we  find  such 
wonders  in  the  material  creations  of  God,  why  need  we  marvel  at  yet 
deeper  mysteries  in  the  realm  of  spirit?  We  might  marvel  if  that 
were  all  comprehensible." 

"These  arguments  are  all  true  of  the  domain  of  doctrines,"  said  the 
minister,  who  had  joined  the  group  in  the  Bureau  ;  "  but  the  highest 
of  all  Christian  mysteries  are  made  clear  to  us  when  we  accept  them. 
Some  things  we  can  understand  only  when  we  have  first  believed. 
Thus,  we  never  can  understand  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour,  until 
we  have  believed  in  him  as  our  Saviour;  then  we  apprehend  him, 
being  by  him  apprehended.  True  is  the  poet's  cry : 

" '  Strong  Son  of  God,  Immortal  Love, 
Whom  we  that  have  not  seen  thy  face 
By  faith  and  faith  alone,  embrace, 
Believing  what  we  cannot  prove.'  " 

"And  you  consider,"  said  Thomas  to  the  Stranger,  "  that  religion, 
or  piety,  is  the  first  concern  of  life  ?  " 

"  It  is  indeed,  for  only  in  this  we  prepare  for  that  which  is  most 
enduring.  That  does  not  perish  in  the  using,  and  it  confers  its  im- 
mortality on  other  good  things  that  we  gather.  I  should  not  wish 
to  devote  all  my  energies  to  those  things  which  some  sudden  finger 
of  decay  might  smite  in  a  moment,  and  they  would  perish,  and, 

"  '  Like  the  fleeting  fabric  of  a  vision, 
Leave  not  a  wrack  behind.' " 

"  Then  why  have  you  not  discussed  this  with  us  more  particu- 
larly ?  "  asked  Catherine. 

"  Because  I  preferred  rather  to  put  it  in  all  instructions  that  I  ad- 
dressed to  you,  as  the  salt  that  enters  into  all  food  to  make  it  savory. 
I  did  not  wish  you  to  have  an  idea  that  religion  was  a  separate  part 


,       PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  523 

of  your  life,  but  rather  that  it  belonged  to  and  was  in-wrought  with 
the  whole  of  it.  I  have  not  discussed  to  you  the  process  of  breath- 
ing, nor  exhorted  you  to  natural  affection  toward  your  families.  I 
pre-supposed  these,  took  them  for  granted  in  all  that  I  said.  So  I 
have  taught  you,  as  desiring  that  piety  should  be  a  pervading 
•element  in  all  your  character." 

"And  what  kind  of  piety?"  asked  Robert. 

"There  is  only  one  kind  genuine,  or  worth  having:  that  is,  practi- 
cal piety.  Practical  piety  acts  rather  than  talks.  It  is  never  dumb, 
and  never  blatant.  Always  ready  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  it 
holds,  always  ready  to  commend  Christianity ;  its  best  commendation 
is  its  own  beneficent  working.  Its  foundation  and  rule  is  in  the  Bible, 
and  its  desire  is  to  please  God,  and  dwell  with  him  forever." 

"  Then  is  church  membership  needful  to  this  kind  of  piety?"  asked 
Thomas. 

"  Church  membership  will  be  natural  to  it.  The  Christian  man 
will  unite  himself  to  that  church  which  he  believes  to  be  most  nearly 
in  accord  with  that  Bible  which  is  the  rule  of  his  life.  He  will  unite 
with  a  church  because  it  is  an  evident  way  of  taking  his  stand  and 
showing  what  he  is,  and  no  true  man  is  ashamed  of  his  colors.  Then, 
too,  love  of  his  Christian  brethren  will  impel  him  to  unite  himself  in 
some  organization  with  them.  Humanity  is  gregarious  in  its  nature; 
in  politics,  in  social  life,  in  business  pursuits,  in  scientific  associations, 
we  desire  to  unite  with  those  like-minded  with  ourselves.  Besides 
this,  a  truly  religious  man  desires  to  further  evangelistic  efforts,  and 
he  can  best  do  this  laboring  through  the  equipment  of  some  church 
where  work  is  thoroughly  organized." 

"And,"  said  the  minister,  "  if  this  practical  piety  is  worth  anything, 
it  is  worth  having  and  exercising  all  one's  life.  It  puts  one  at  ease, 
as  does  a  competence  laid  by  for  feebleness  or  age.  Many  men  are 
frantically  religious,  under  terror  of  death  ;  it  is  better  to  be  religious 
for  the  improvement  of  life.  There  is  this  strong  passage  in  Plato, 
'De  Republica: '  '  Let  me  tell  you,  Socrates,  that  when  a  man  thinks 
himself  near  death,  he  has  fears  and  cares  which  never  before  entered 


524  PRACTICAL  LIVE. 

his  mind.  The  tales  of  a  life  below,  and  of  the  punishment  which  js 
there  the  penalty  of  deeds  done  here,  were  a  laughing  matter  to  him 
formerly,  but  now  he  is  haunted  with  the  thought  that  they  may  be 
true.  Either  because  of  the  feebleness  of  age,  or  the  nearness  of 
the  prospect,  he  seems  to  have  a  clearer  glance  at  the  other  world  ; 
suspicions  and  alarms  crowd  upon  him,  and  he  begins  to  reckon  up 
in  his  own  mind  what  wrongs  he  has  done  to  others.  And  when 
he  finds  that  the  sum  of  his  transgressions  is  great,  he  will  many  a 
time,  like  a  child,  start  up  in  his  sleep  for  fear,  and  he  is  filled  with 
dark  forebodings.'  Here  is  a  miserable  picture  of  a  life  where  piety 
has  been  left  out." 

"  I  begin  to  think,"  said  Samuel,  "  that  there  is  no  such  open  and 
manly  and  honest  thing  as  whole-hearted  piety :  the  piety  which 
will  love  and  do  right  because  it  is  right,  and  endeavor  to  be,  as  I 
have 'read  somewhere,  'like  God,  perfectly  simple  and  true,  both  in 
word  and  deed.' " 

"  That  is  in  Plato,"  said  John  Frederick. 

"Remember,"  said  the  Stranger,  "that  this  practical  piety  is  no- 
coward;  it  is  not  ashamed  of  its  belief.  It  will  not  stand  silent  and 
hear  good  evil-spoken  of.  I  quote  Plato  again  :  '  For  I  fear  that 
there  may  be  a  sin  when  justice  is  evil-spoken  of,  in  standing  by 
and  failing  to  offer  help  or  succor,  while  breath  or  speech  remain  to- 
me.'  " 

"  Well,"  said  John  Frederick,  "  what  is  that  conviction  worth  that 
is  not  worth  a  battle?  Right  is  the  true  knight-errant  of  the  ages, 
armed  cap-a-pie,  lance  in  rest,  riding  forward  to  fight  its  way  through 
the  world." 

"  We  cannot  thus  champion  right  as  a  mere  matter  of  abstract 
morals  without  religion  to  stay  us,"  said  the  minister.  "  We  are  not 
sufficiently  in  harmony  with  righteousness  to  maintain  pure  justice 
without  piety.  Our  moral  forces  have  fallen  and  weakened,  and  we 
need  a  projection  of  divine  power  into  our  natures,  that  we  may 
'stand  upright  on  our  feet.'" 

"  It  takes  many  of  us  a  long  time  to  learn  this,"  said  the  doctor 


PRACTICAL  RELIGION.  526 

"  I  have  noticed  among  my  patients  that  many  of  them,  when  they 
begin  to  feel  ill,  poison  themselves  with  all  manner  of  dosing  and 
foolish  nostrums,  and  finally,  when  they  have  made  the  case  as  bad  as 
they  can,  send  for  a  physician.  So  in  spiritual  matters,  we  try  a  deal 
of  self-help  and  quack-work  first.  It  takes  us  a  long  while  to  learn  to 
pray  the  prayer  of  Epictetus,  that  '  henceforth  the  gods  would  lead 
and  guide,  feed  and  clothe  him  as  they  saw  best.'  We  reach  this 
after  we  have  tried  guiding  ourselves  in  all  these  things  and  failed — 
and  then  we  turn  to  God  ! " 

"  But  it  is  only  in  this  path  of  Christian  faith  that  we  can  walk 
vigorously,"  said  the  Stranger.  "  Here  is  not  ground  that  will  give 
way  under  our  feet.  Here  we  have  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now 
is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  In  this  life  of  piety  the  soul  is  not 
tortured  by  terrors  nor  turned  aside  by  doubts,  nor  made  timorous 
by  uncertainties.  We  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  who  love  God.  We  know  that  we  daily  move  toward  a 
realm  of  compensations.  Here  we  can  best  make  our  lives  tell.  To 
those  who  would  weaken  your  youthful  strength  with  doubts,  assert 
the  authority  and  teaching  of  the  Bible,  and  say,  as  did  Socrates  of 
a  truth  at  which  he  had  arrived:  'This  will  remain  our  conviction 
until  we  find  a  better;'  and  that  one  is  better  must  be  shown  by 
equally  strong  proofs  and  effects  upon  humanity.  These  teachers 
of  infidelity,  those  who  reject  the  Scriptures,  come  to  you  with  nega- 
tions ;  they  take  away  what  you  have,  but  give  you  nothing  in  its 
place.  Beware,  then,  of  giving  up  an  assured  good  for  a  nonentity. 
On  Christian  truth  the  world  has  risen  to  its  present  estate,  incom- 
parably better  than  the  past,  and  better  just  in  proportion  as  evan- 
gelical truth  has  permeated  the  nations." 

"And  practical  religion,"  said  Catherine,  "is  just  to  accept  that 
truth  and  live  it  out  every  day,  and  so  grow  better  by  it,  and  make 
others  better." 

"  What  we  have  arrived  at  is,"  said  the  Stranger,  "  that  only  by 
evangelical  or  Biblical  religion  good  morals  can  be  perpetuated  or 
good  order  maintained.  In  this  only  is  the  stronghold  of  law;  by 


526  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

this  man  rises  to  his  highest  estate  and  finest  development.  Its 
opponents  appeal  to  passions  rather  than  to  reason  ;  strive  to  create 
prejudices  instead  of  awakening  logical  investigations.  Independent 
thinking  is  not  inconsistent  with  religious  training,  and  the  Bible 
develops  man's  reasoning  faculties  to  their  highest  degree.  Those 
arrogant  infidel  teachers  who  go  about  the  country  proclaiming  that 
they  wish  to  free  men  from  '  the  trammels  of  Bible  superstitions '  are 
themselves  the  '  servants  of  corruption/  and  their  demand  is  that  men 
shall  take  their  word  instead  of  God's  word,  and  pin  an  unquestioning 
faith  to  their  sapient  deliverances  !  The  best  answer  to  all  this  is 
to  'Search  the  Scriptures/  and  walk  in  the  light  which  you  there  find, 
in  the  safe  and  noble  ways  of  Practical  Religion." 


THE  AFTER-MATH, 


The  days  have  grown  to  weeks,  to  months,  to  years — the  years  to 
many,  since  first  the  Stranger  entered  the  Village  Store.  The  long- 
legged  and  long-armed  clerk  has  boys  and  girls  of  his  own.  The 
saddle  and  harness-maker,  bent  and  wrinkled,  yet  somewhat  mel- 
lowed by  age,  is  cared  for  by  his  children.  The  burly  butter-maker 
sits  on  his  sunny  porch,  and  marks  his  world  move  on  under  the 
administration  of  his  descendants.  No  more  the  clamor  disturbs  the 
storekeeper  at  mail  time :  he  is  asleep  under  the  daisies.  The  lawyer 
has  joined  the  majority  of  his  clients ;  and  the  doctor — we  mean 
nothing  invidious — has  gone  over  to  the  majority  of  his  patients. 
Samuel  and  his  Catherine  have- gray  hairs  here  and  there  upon  them; 
and  their  sons  and  daughters  are  asserting  themselves  as  independent 
entities,  as  once  did  Samuel  in  the  Village  Store.  The  deacon  bows 
under  the  weight  of  eighty  years.  John  Frederick  shines  in  Con- 
gress, and  Violet  his  wife  shines  at  home.  The  noisy  urchins  of  the 
Village  Store  are  teachers  and  farmers,  merchants  and  manufacturers, 
soldiers,  sailors,  ministers,  pioneers,  discoverers,  and  still  the  world 
"rolls  eastward,"  unjarred,  and  "bears  with  her  lightly  borne"  the 
myriad  sons  of  men,  who  reign  in  the  stead  of  their  elders,  and  reign 
as  well !  The  Stranger  who  said  all  these  things  herein  recorded 
has  vanished  from  the  earth,  and  his  name  remains  among  the 
people: 

"A  Stranger :  who  had  his  home  in  our  hearts." 

They  asked  no  more  concerning  him ;  this  was  enough. 

"  The  traveller  owns  the  grateful  sense 
Of  sweetness  near,  he  knows  not  whence, 
And,  pausing,  takes  with  forehead  bare 
The  benediction  of  the  air." 

(681) 


"Move  eastward,  happy  earth,  and  leave 

Yon  orange  sunset  waning  slow  : 
From  fringes  of  the  faded  eve, 
O  happy  planet,  eastward  go." 


(528) 


BUREAU    MISCELLANY. 


'T  is  the  duty  of  all  parents  to  provide  amusement  at 
home  for  their  children.  In  so  doing  they  minister  in 
their  families  to  a  taste  which  heaven  implanted,  and 
which,  therefore,  must  be  right.  The  desire  for  amuse- 
ment is  in  the  child  just  as  natural  as  the  desire  for 
food,  and  drink,  and  sleep,  and  in  its  own  line  is  as  important.  Most 
parents  subserve  to  this  instinct  in  the  young  child ;  but  possibly  more 
to  keep  the  little  being  from  troubling  them,  than  from  a  reasonable 
appreciation  of  its  needs.  Rattles,  dolls,  balls  are  provided  for  the 
small  ones;  but,  in  many  families,  when  the  child  becomes  eight  or 
ten  years  old,  the  parents  cease  to  apprehend  its  desire  for  enter- 
tainment :  but  this  is  the  very  age  when  neglect  of  wants  in  this 
direction  will  be  most  dangerous.  If  from  eight  to  eighteen  years 
of  age  no  home  pleasures  are  provided  for  the  young,  they  begin  to 
seek  enjoyments  abroad,  and  these  often  become  of  a  most  dangerous 
quality. 

All  young  people  will  work  better,  study  better,  love  their  parents 
better,  stay  at  home  better,  and  consequently  have  better  morals,  if 
a  due  attention  is  paid  to  making  their  homes  cheerful,  and  giving 
them  innocent  entertainments.  Said  the  father  of  a  family  :  "  Hun- 
dreds of  lads  go  to  the  dogs  every  year  for  want  of  proper  home 
amusements." 

The  elderly  fathers  can  take  their  newspapers,  or  nod  in  their 
chairs,  or  ponder  abstruse  calculations ;  the  mothers  can  read,  or 
knit,  or  sew,  or  design  a  new  garment,  and  pass  the  time  very  com- 
34  (529) 


530  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

fortably  six  evenings  in  a  week ;  but  we  cannot  expect  this  of  the 
exuberant  spirits  of  youth  :  we  must  "provide  some  better  things  for 
them." 

These  amusements  should  cover  the  needs  of  the  home  circle,  and 
of  the  young  friends  who,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  are  often  and  cordially 
invited  to  houses  where  sons  and  daughters  are  growing  up. 

One  of  the  first  entertainments  for  the  young  which  we  shall  men- 
tion is 

I.— Reading. 

If  children  are  taught  to  read  well,  forcibly  and  dramatically,  they 
will  be  much  entertained  with  home  readings,  especially  when  these 
are  well  selected :  not  expecting  the  young  to  be  always  satisfied 
with  mouthing  Bolingbroke,  or  Pitt,  or  Burke,  or  Clay,  or  Pope — 
though  they  will  be  willing  to  use  these  with  livelier  works.  Among 
pleasant  readings  for  the  home  circle  we  will  find : 

Macaulay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome ;  Lamb's  Essays  of  Elia ;• 
Hood's  Lost  Heir;  Hood's  Miss  Kilmansegg;  Mark  Twain's  Works; 
Tennyson's  Poems ;  Longfellow's  Poems ;  Whittier's  Poems ;  Jean 
Ingelow's  Poems;  Selections  from  Bret  Harte;  Aldrich's  Marjorie 
Daw ;  Aldrich's  Short  Stories  ;  The  Skeleton  In  Armor ;  Carleton's 
Farm  Ballads  ;  Gerald  Griffin's  The  Collegians ;  Coleridge's  Ancient 
Mariner ;  Curtis'  Potiphar  Papers  ;  Curtis'  Prue  and  I ;  Dickens'  Short 
Stories;  Thackeray's  Four  Georges;  Wordsworth's  Peter  Bell; 
Burns'  Cotter's  Saturday  Night ;  Burns'  Tarn  O'Shanter ;  T.  Bu- 
chanan Read's  Bay  of  Naples. 

Dramatic  readings  should  be  encouraged ;  and  when  the  young 
folks  of  a  neighborhood  will  form  a  club,  to  meet  fortnightly,  or 
monthly,  and  read  certain  well-selected  dramas,  of  which  the  parts 
are  previously  given  out  and  well  studied,  it  will  add  not  only  to 
their  pleasure  but  to  their  cultivation.  A  large  number  of  dramas 
for  parlor  readings  are  now  published  in  paper  covers  at  from  ten  to 
fifteen  cents  each.  Many  of  the  older  dramatists  can  be  read  to  ad- 
vantage, where  two  or  three  competent  persons  will  do  the  needful 
"  cutting  out,"  that  is,  arranging  for  the  omission  of  certain  parts  and" 


BUREAU  MISGELLAKY.  631 

phrases  that  happily  do  not  suit  the  taste  and  morals  of  the  present 
age.  Of  these  dramas,  that  require  but  a  small  amount  of  ex- 
purgation, and  are  most  valuable  as  literary  works  and  studies,  we 
suggest  : 

Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice  ;  Tempest  ;  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream;  Lear;  Macbeth;  Henry  VII.;  Goldsmith's  She  Stoops  To 
Conquer;  Sheridan's  Rivals,  and  School  For  Scandal.  Bulwer's 
Lady  of  Lyons,  Richelieu,  and  Money,  will  probably  need  no 
excerpts. 

All  these  plays,  having  numerous  "  parts,"  can  best  be  read  by 
clubs  ;  but  there  are  issued  a  large  number  of  delightful  and  amusing 
little  comedies,  with  only  four  or  five  characters,  which  can  easily  be 
read  by  any  home  circle.  Of  these  we  would  mention,  as  full  of 
harmless  fun,  "  Trying  It  On,"  "  Poor  Pillicoddy,"  "A  Lover  By 
Proxy,"  "  Ici  On  Parle  Francais,"  and  "An  Irishman  In  London." 
These  last  can  be  easily  acted,  with  very  little  trouble  or  stage  prep- 
aration, by  those  who  enjoy  parlor  theatricals. 

II. 

Another  very  entertaining  and  improving  amusement,  especially 
for  well-read  families,  is  "  CAPPING  VERSES."  Thus  :  a  certain  word 
is  given  out  as  a  cap,  and  each  one  repeats  a  verse  beginning  with 
this  word  ;  as,  the  cap  is  All.  The  verses  may  run  : 

i. 

"All  day  the  hoary  meteor  fell  ; 
And,  when  the  second  morning  shone, 
We  looked  upon  a  world  unknown, 
On  nothing  we  could  call  our  own."  —  Whittier. 

2 

"All  day  the  gusty  north  wind  bore 

The  loosened  drift  its  breath  before."  —  Snow  Bound. 


within  the  dreamy  house 

The  doors  upon  their  hinges  creaked. 

The  blue  fly  sung  in  the  pane  :  the  mouse 

Behind  the  mouldering  wainscot  shrieked."—  Tennyion, 


532  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

4- 

"All  of  a  sudden  he  stopt :  there  passed  by  the  gate  of  the  farm, 

Willy ;  he  didn't  see  me  :  and  Jenny  hung  on  his  arm. 

Out  into  the  road  I  started,  and  spoke,  I  scarce  know  how. 

Ah,  there  is  no  fool  like  an  old  one,  and  it  makes  me  angry  now." 

"All  aghast  then  death  shall  shiver, 
And  great  nature's  frame  shall  quiver, 
When  the  graves  their  dead  deliver." — "Dies  Ira" 

6. 

"All  fresh  the  level  pasture  lay, 

And  not  a  shadow  mote  be  seen 
Save  where  full  five  good  miles  away, 
The  steeple  towered  from  out  the  green." — Ingelow. 

"All  in  this  mottie,  misty  clime, 
I  backward  mused  on  wasted  time, 
How  had  I  spent  my  youthfu'  prime, 

An'  done  nae-thing." — Burns. 

8. 

"All  night  the  booming  minute-gun 

Had  pealed  along  the  deep, 
And  mournfully  the  rising  sun 

Looked  o'er  the  tide-worn  steep." — Hemans. 

9- 

"All  ye  who  live  in  the  upper  sky 
Do  you  love  holy  Christabel ! 
And  do  you  love  them,  and  for  their  sake, 

And  for  the  good  which  me  befell?  " — Coleridge. 

III. 

Where  there  are  classical  students  they  can  amuse  themselves 
in  a  way  popular  among  the  young  men  of  Oxford,  Cambridge, 
Leyden,  and  Bonn  Universities,  by  capping  Latin  verses.  This  is 
done  as  in  English  verse,  and  is  a  fine  vacation  exercise  for  college 
students. 

Thus,  let  Jam  be  announced  as  the  ,cap. 
I. 

"Jam  dignati  fceno  nasci 

Pcenas  mecum  divide." — "The  Stabat  Mater!* 
2. 

"Jam  satis  terris  nivis  atque  dirse 
Grandinis  misit  Pater." — Horace. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  533 

3- 

"Jam  te  premet  nox  fabulaeque  Manes." — Horace. 

4- 

"Jam  captum  teneo  jam  volucrem  sequor 
Te  per  gramnia  Martii." — Ib. 

"Jam  redit  et  Virgo,  redeunt  Saturnia  regna." —  Virgil. 
6. 

"Jam  que  novum  ut  terrae  stupeant  lucescere  solem." — Ib. 

"Jam  vinctae  vites,  jam  falcem  arbusta  reponunt." — Ib. 

8. 

"Jam  validam  Ilionci  navem,  jam  fortis  Achatae." — Ib. 

IV. 

Another  amusement  for  college  students  is  trying  the  SORTES  VIR- 
GILIAN.-E,  or  the  Virgilian  Fates.  This  was  once  more  than  an  amuse- 
ment among  the  learned ;  there  was  a  superstition  connected  with  it, 
that  when  one  purposed  any  undertaking,  by  opening  a  Virgil,  and 
reading  the  line  on  which  the  eye  or  finger  first  fell,  one  could 
foretell  his  fate. 

For  instance,  if  one  setting  out  on  a  sea-voyage  tried  the  Sortes 
Virgilianae,  and  turned  up  the  line : 

"  Interea  magno  misceri  murmure  pontum  " — (1.  124) 

he  would  meet  a  storm.  Or,  if  his  sors  came  out : 

"  Unius  ob  noxam,  et  furias  Ajacis  Oilei  ?  " — (1.  41) 

he  would  meet  an  enemy.  Or,  if  he  proposed  an  undertaking, 

and  hit  line  437  of  the  first  book : 

"  O  fortunati,  quorum  jam  moenia  surgunt !  " 

he  would  be  su'ccessful.  If  a  lady  turns  to 

"  Felix,  heu  nimium  felix  !  si  litora  tantum 
Nunquam  Dardanise  tetigissent  nostra  carinae  " — (iv.  1.  657) 

she  will  be  unhappy  in  her  love.  If  it  is  line  705 — 

"  Dilapsus  calor,  atque  in  ventos  vita  recessit" 
she  is  soon  to  die. 

Sometimes  these  "Sortes  "  are  tried  from  Shakespeare,  or  in  modern 
poets  as  Tennyson  or  Longfellow,  and  are  quite  amusing. 


534  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

V. 

Charades  are  another  pleasing  home-amusement.  This  game 
consists  in  choosing  a  word,  and  acting  its  syllables  in  parts,  and 
then  the  word  as  a  whole,  while  the  spectators  guess  what  word 
is  meant.  Usually  half  the  company  look  on,  and  half  act  Books 
can  be  purchased  containing  elaborate  charades,  requiring  nearly  as 
much  paraphernalia  as  parlor  theatricals.  It  is  easy  to  act  short 
charades,  which  can  be  made  very  amusing  without  "turning  a 
house  upside  down."  We  give  a  few  good  words  leaving  the  carry- 
ing them  out  to  the  genius  of  the  young  folks,  who  will  improve  by 
practice. 

i.  Banditti.  Parts     "Band"     "ditty." 

This  can  be  very  comical  acted  in  pantomime ;  first,  a  band 
seeming  to  play  on  all  kinds  of  instruments,  and  who,  under  a  band- 
master, play  a  tune  through,  keeping  perfect  time  and  making  no 
sound.  The  second  syllable  comes  in  as  a  serenade,  also  silent  but 
with  wonderful  contortions.  The  whole  is  represented  by  a  travelling 
party,  pounced  on  and  rifled  by  robbers. 

2.  Inspector.  (Inn     spectre.)  This  affords  fine  fun  in 
a  country  tavern  scene,  and  a  ghost  scene. 

3.  Nightmare.  (Scene  2d  includes  the  excited  sale  of  a 
wooden  rocking-horse). 

4.  Aladdin.         Also  easy. 

5.  Matrimony.  (Mat  rye  money.) 

6.  Antipodes.  (Aunt     tip     odes.) 

7.  Miserable.  (Miser     able.) 

8.  Dramatic.  (Dram     attic.)         A  temperance  charade. 

9.  Neighbors.  (Nay     bores.) 
10.  Sweepstakes.  Short  and  easy. 

PUN    CHARADES. 

These  are  very  comical  and  require  only  a  table  with  a  curtain 
before  it,  and  a  good  exhibitor. 

i.  Aladdin.  (A  lad  in.) 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  535 

A  little  boy  so  sitting  in  a  sack  that  the  exhibitor,  always  silent,  pulls 
it  over  his  head  and  ties  him  in. 

2.  Commentator  on  Acts.  (Common  'tater  on  ax.) 

A  large  ax  whereon  is  laid  an  Irish  potato. 

3.  The  Isles  of  Greece.  ('lies  of  grease.) 

Neatly  arranged  saucers  of  olive,  whale,  lard,  sperm,  and  kerosene 
oil.     To  follow  this,  are,  the  Isles  of  Greece. 

4.  Delos.  (Deal  hoss.) 
A  common  wooden  hobby  horse. 

5.  Samos.  (Same  hoss.) 
No  change  from  4. 

6.  Chios.  (Shy  hoss.) 
The  same  horse  rearing. 

7.  Wag. 
A  toy  dog  whose  tail  is  wagged  by  an  invisible  thread 

8.  Wagon.  (Wag  on.) 
The  same  performance  continued. 

9.  A  little  Misunderstanding. 

A  little  girl  standing  with  a  board  or  book  held  over  her. 

10.  A  moving  scene.  (A  cart  of  doll-furniture.) 

VI. 

Acting  proverbs  is  also  a  merry  way  of  passing  an  evening.     We 
jive  a  few  proverbs  : 

No  rose  without  its  thorns. 

When  the  cat's  away  the  mice  will  play. 

Never  too  late  to  mend. 

A  new  broom  sweeps  clean. 

All's  well  that  ends  well. 

It  never  rains  but  it  pours. 

Haste  makes  waste. 

A  fair  exchange  is  no  robbery. 

Lightly  come,  lightly  go. 

It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good. 

Many  men,  many  minds. 


636  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

VII.— Tableaux. 

1.  Diligent  Students. — Scene,  a  parlor:  four  girls  prettily  dressed^ 
asleep  in  different  attitudes. 

No.  i  has  a  novel  open  in  her  hand  (yellow  paper). 
No.  2  a  magazine. 

No.  3  a  Webster's  Unabridged  open  on  her  lap. 
No.  4  a  little  blue  and  gold  volume  of  poems. 

2.  A  Soul  at  Stake. — A  young  lad  gambling  with  an  old  rascal  r 
behind  the  young  man  stand  an  angel  and  a  demon,  each  with  a  hand 
on  his  shoulder. 

3.  The  Judgment  of  Paris. — Classic  costumes.     Difficult  Figures. 
Paris,  Juno,  Venus,  Minerva.    Scene  out-of-doors.     Read  Tennyson's 
"^Enone"  for  a  cast 

4.  The  Departure  of  Pandora. — Elaborate.     Classic.     The  gods  are 
gathered  around  the  smiling  Pandora,  who,  with  her  fatal  box,  bows 
farewell  to  Jove  and  Juno  throned,  as  she  sets  out  for  earth. 

5.  The  Beggar  Maid. — Read  Tennyson's  "Beggar  Maid"  for  cast. 
The  maid  is  met  by  the  king,  who  takes  her  hand  as  his  courtiers 
stand  staring. 

6.  " Two  Angels :  One  of  Life  and  One  of  Death" — See  Long- 
fellow's poem.     The  bright  and  the  gray  angel,  each  with  emble- 
matic flowers,  part  to  do  their  separate  errands. 

7.  "The  Sleeping  Beauty'' — Read  Tennyson's  "  Day-  Dream  "  for 
cast.     The  Beauty  sleeps  :  the  Prince  steals  near  to  wake  her  from 
the  enchantment. 

8.  The  Dream  of  Fair   Women. — Elaborate.      From  Tennyson's 
Poem. 

9.  Audrey  and  Touchstone. — See  Shakespeare's  "As  You  Like  It." 

10.  754*  Cast  of  a  Drama. — From  "  Midsummer  Night's  Dream." 
Bottom  and  his  friends  arranging  their  play.     Act  I.     Scene  II. 

VIII.— Burlesque  Classic  Dramas. 

These  are  classic  scenes  acted  in  broad  burlesque  of  dress  and 
character.     Good  subjects  are : 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  537 

Orpheus  and  Eurydice. 

The  labors  of  Hercules. 

The  adventures  of  Pius  ^Eneas. 

Penelope  and  her  lovers,  with  the  return  of  Ulysses. 

Circe  and  her  victims,  with  the  escape  of  Ulysses. 

The  apple  thrown  among  the  gods,  and  decision  of  Paris. 

The  Trojan  war. 

IX.— Games. 

While  charades,  proverbs,  tableaux  and  the  like  afford  excellent 
entertainment,  they  demand  some  time,  preparation,  and  experience 
to  present  them.  But  often  games  of  an  impromptu  character  are 
required,  and  those  suited  for  younger  persons.  We  give  a  few  of 
these.  First,  a  merry  French  game  called : 

/.  La  Defiance. 

The  players  stand  in  a  row  representing  France.  One  player  faces 
the  row,  and  is  England.  The  defiance  is  accompanied  by  a  gesture. 
As  it  passes  from  mouth  to  mouth,  each  player  adds  a  word  or  two 
and  a  new  gesture.  The  player  who  forgets  any  of  the  defiance  as  it 
came  to  him,  fails  to  add  something  new,  or  adds  what  has  before 
been  added,  takes  the  place  of  England.  England  does  not  speak, 
but  makes  the  gestures,  adding  each  to  those  made  before,  and  the 
player  who  gives  him  a  gesture  that  cannot  be  made  with  those  gone 
before,  must  as  penalty  become  England.  For  example : 

First  Player — "  England !  I  defy  thee !  "  shakes  right  fist.  England 
shakes  his  right  fist. 

Second  Player — "Arrogant  England!  I  defy  thee!"  shrugs 
shoulders.  England  makes  both  signs. 

Third  Player — "Arrogant  England!  I  defy  thee  with  all  my 
heart ! "  puts  tongue  in  his  cheek.  England  makes  these  three 
signs. 

Fourth  Player — "Arrogant  England  !  with  all  my  heart  I  challenge 
and  defy  thee  !  "  shakes  left  fist.  England  now  makes  simultaneously 
four  signs. 


538  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Now  when  it  comes  to  a  player  who  runs  out  his  tongue,  as  it  is 
manifestly  impossible  that  England  should  at  the  same  minute  put 
his  tongue  in  his  cheek  and  thrust  it  out,  and  as  all  England's  ges- 
tures are  to  be  coincident,  the  player  takes  his  place  as  a  forfeit ;  or, 
if  one  sign  has  been  closing  the  eyes,  and  some  one  gives  the  sign 
of  stretching  them,  he  is  forfeit ;  or,  if  a  sign  has  been  shaking  one 
foot,  and  a  player  gives  shaking  the  other  foot — as  England  cannot 
shake  both  feet  at  once — he  is  relieved  of  his  place. 

2.  Shadow  Buff, 

This  is  a  modification  of  blind-man's  buff,  and  is  a  gentler  and  safer 
game  to  play.  To  begin  with,  a  smooth  white  wall  surface  should 
be  chosen,  or  one  created  by  hanging  up  a  sheet  or  table-cloth. 
"  Buff,"  not  blindfolded,  sits  opposite  this  screen,  looking  at  it,  with 
a  bright  light  behind  him.  The  players  then  pass  behind  him  in 
procession,  each  distorting  himself  as  he  passes  by  every  means  in 
his  power,  and  the  game  consists  in  "  buff"  trying  to  identify  them 
by  the  shadow  on  the  screen.  Whoever  is  caught  takes  "buff's" 
place. 

3.  Poreo,  or  Italian  Blind-Man's  Buff. 

This  game  is  similar  to  "  Buff  with  the  Wand." 

Several  persons,  male  and  female,  join  hands  so  as  to  form  a  circle, 
and  one  person,  who  is  blindfolded,  is  placed  in  the  centre,  with  a 
small  stick  in  his  or  her  hand.  The  players  dance  round  the  hood- 
winked person,  who  tries  to  touch  one  of  them  with  the  wand,  and 
if  he  succeeds,  the  ring  of  people  stops.  The  player  then  grunts 
like  a  pig — hence  the  name  of  the  game — crows,  or  imitates  some 
animal,  and  the  person  touched  must  endeavor  to  imitate  the  noise 
as  closely  as  possible,  without  discovering  himself  or  herself.  If  the 
party  touched  is  discovered,  then  the  hoodwinked  player  transfers 
the  bandage  and  the  stick  to  that  player,  and  takes  the  vacant  place 
in  the  ring  of  persons,  who  once  more  resume  their  dance,  until 
another  player  is  touched. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  589 

4.  Blind-Man's  Buff  with  the  Wand. 

Blind-Man's  Buff  with  the  Wand  is  a  game  well  adapted  for  the 
parlor. 

The  blind  man  with  his  eyes  covered  with  a  bandage  is  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  a  long  wand  is  put  into  his  hands. 
The  rest  of  the  company  join  theirs,  and,  forming  a  circle,  wheel 
around  him,  at  the  same  time  singing  some  lively  air,  in  which  they 
all  join. 

When  the  song  is  finished  they  stop,  and  the  blind  man,  extend- 
ing his  wand,  directs  it  by  chance  towards  one  of  the  company,  who 
is  obliged  to  take  hold  of  it  by  the  end  presented  to  him.  Then  the 
blind  man  utters  three  cries,  which  the  other  must  repeat  in  the 
same  tone.  If  the  latter  does  not  know  how  to  disguise  his  voice, 
he  is  easily  guessed,  and  takes  the  blind  man's  place ;  otherwise,  the 
circle  wheels  around  him,  stops  again,  and  so  on  as  before. 

5.  Eye  Buff. 

Stretch  across  a  room,  door  or  corner  a  piece  of  white  cloth 
with  eye-holes  in  it.  Behind  this  stand  the  players,  their  eyes  at  the 
holes.  Buff,  when  all  their  persons  but  their  eyes  are  hidden,  is  re- 
quired to  identify  them  by  the  eyes  only.  When  he  guesses  right,  the 
picked  out  player  takes  his  place.  But  it  is  wonderful  to  see  how 
hard  it  is  to  identify  a  person  only  by  that  most  expressive  feature, 
the  eye. 

6.  What  Will  He  Do  With  It. 

One  person,  called  an  Alien,  leaves  the  room.  The  rest  of  the 
players  agree  on  some  word  that  with  the  same  pronunciation  has 
different  spelling  and  meaning,  so  that  they  can  answer  according  to 
its  varied  significations.  Then  Alien  comes  in  and  has  three  ques- 
tions in  succession  :  "  How  do  you  like  it  ?  "  "  When  do  you  like  it  ?  " 
"What  will  you  do  with  it?"  Thus:  "  How  do  you  like  it?"  One 
answers,  "  I  like  it  hot ;  "  another,  "  I  like  it  cold  ;  "  another,  "  I  like 
it  old ; "  another,  "  I  like  it  new."  He  then  asks  the  company  in 
succession,  again, "  When  do  you  like  it  ?  "  One  says,  "At  all  times; " 


540  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

another,  "  Very  seldom  ;  "  a  third,  "At  dinner ;  "  a  fourth,  "  On  the 
water ; "  a  fifth,  "  On  the  land,"  etc.  Lastly,  the  Alien  goes  round 
and  asks,  "  Where  would  you  put  it  ?  "  One  says,  "  I  would  put  it 
up  the  chimney ;  "  another,  "  I  would  throw  it  down  a  well ;"  a  third, 
"  I  would  hang  it  on  a  tree ; "  a  fourth,  "  I  would  put  it  in  a  pud- 
ding." From  these  answers  a  witty  girl  may  guess  the  word  chosen ; 
but  should  she  be  unable  to  do  so,  she  has  to  pay  a  forfeit.  Many 
words  might  be  chosen  for  the  game,  such  as — 

Aunt  and  ant;  plane  and  plain;  rain  and  rein;  vice,  a  tool,  and 
vice,  a  crime ;  key,  of  a  door,  and  quay,  a  place  for  ships ;  pare,  pair, 
pear ;  eight,  ate ;  fellow,  and  felloe,  of  a  wheel ;  champagne,  wine ; 
champaign,  expanse  of  country;  box,  a  receptacle;  box,  a  blow;  box, 
an  evergreen  plant. 

7.  Paul  Pry  and  Mrs.  Grundy. 

The  players  seat  themselves,  except  a  lady  and  gentleman.  The 
gentleman  is  Paul  Pry :  the  lady  Mrs.  Grundy.  Mrs.  Grundy  whispers 
to  each  player  a  different  answer,  as — 

To  No.  i  she  whispers :  "  Hot,  sweet,  and  strong." 

To  No.  2,  "  With  pepper  and  vinegar." 

To  No.  3,  "  With  my  best  love." 

To  No.  4,  "  No,  indeed." 

Giving  each  a  different  answer  to  use.  Then  Paul  Pry  goes  around 
and  asks  any  question  which  he  chooses,  but  aloud,  and  gets  aloud 
the  various  replies  that  Mrs.  Grundy  has  given,  and  which  are  beauti- 
fully inconsequent,  as  he  asks — 

No.  i,  "What  kind  of  a  week  have  you  passed?" 

No.  i,  "  Hot,  sweet,  and  strong." 

To  No.  2,  "  Shall  you  ever  marry  ?  " 

No.  2,  "  With  pepper  and  vinegar." 

To  No.  3,  "  How  will  you  keep  house  on  these  ?  " 

No.  3,  "  With  my  best  love." 

To  No.  4,  "Are  you  sincere  ?  " 

No.  4,  "  No,  indeed  !  " 
As  no  personalities  can  be  intended,  no  offence  must  be  taken, 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  641 

though  answers  seem  to  hit  home.     But  the  players  of  any  game 
should  always  remember  courtesy,  delicacy  and  good  judgment. 

8.  Madame  Rumor. 

One  player  whispers  to  the  first  of  the  line  of  players  a  piece  of 
gossip,  which  he  has  carefully  written  down,  and  without  showing  the 
paper  whispers  just  as  he  wrote  it.  The  story  is  repeated  in  a  whisper 
from  one  to  another  of  the  whole  circle.  The  last  player  carefully 
writes  down  what  he  supposes  to  be  the  rumor,  and  the  two  papers 
are  then  read  aloud.  For  instance,  let  the  story  start  thus :  "  Mrs. 
Green,  who  has  four  children,  has  lately  been  left  by  her  uncle,  who 
died  at  Sing-Sing,  ten  thousand  dollars,  her  husband  being  in  Cali- 
fornia," and  see  how  it  will  come  out. 

9.  Alphabetical  Investments. 

Each  player  is  given  a  letter  of  the  alphabet,  to  which  in  their 
nouns  and  adjectives  they  must  adhere.  The  leader  then  starts  off: 
"  I  load  my  ship,"  or,  "  I  furnish  my  house,"  or,  "  I  fill  my  store  " 
with — .  And  player  A.  must  at  once  begin  with  something  appro- 
priate under  his  letter.  So  if  ft  is  a  ship  to  be  loaded :  "Axes,  adzes, 
and  antidotes  for  poisons."  B.  says :  "  With  bitters,  bonnets,  benches 
and  bells."  C.  says  :  "  With  carts,  carriages,  cradles,  crowns,  churns." 
D.  says :  "  With  dogs,  dandelion  roots,  dentifrice,  ducks  and  dolls," 
and  so  on. 

If  it  is  a  store,  A.  may  respond  quickly :  "  With  apple  pie,  awls,  a 
la  mode  beef,  anchovies  and  andirons."  B. :  "  With  bluing,  butter, 
buttons,  bands,  boxes  and  berries."  C. :  "  With  candy,  candles, 
crockery,  crowbars  and  cushions." 

Or  the  leader  may  start  the  game  thus  :  "  I  love  my  love  with  an 
A,  because  " — and  player  at  once  sets  in — "  he  is  Affectionate,  be- 
cause his  name  is  Augustus,  because  he  lives  in  Albany.  I  will  give 
him  an  Amethyst:  I  will  feed  him  on  Apple-tarts,  and  make  him  a 
bouquet  of  Anemones." 

"  I  love  my  love  with  a  B,  because  she  is  Beautiful,  because  her 


M2  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

name  is  Beatrice,  because  she  lives  in  Boston.  I  will  give  her  a 
Brooch :  I  will  feed  her  on  Berries,  and  make  her  a  bouquet  of  Blue- 
bells." 

10.  The  Poetasters. 

Take  a  sheet  of  foolscap ;  let  one  player  write  on  the  first  line  a 
line  for  poetry.  It  will  be  decided  whether  successive  or  alternate 
lines  are  to  rhyme,  and  if  the  players  are  sufficiently  advanced  to 
understand  feet  in  poetry,  the  number  of  feet  may  also  be  settled. 
Sometimes  a  theme  is  given.  Then  when  Player  First  writes  a  line 
he  announces  the  last  word,  turns  back  the  line  so  it  cannot  be  seen, 
and  passes  the  paper  to  his  neighbor.  Suppose  the  theme  given  is 
An  Old  Man's  Woes,  every  alternate  line  rhymes. 

ist  player  writes,  turns  over  the  line,  says  bald,  passes  it. 

2d  player  writes,  turns  over  the  line,  says  doors,  passes  it. 

3d  player  must  rhyme  with  bald. 

4th  player  must  rhyme  with  doors. 

5th  player  starts  a  new  verse,  and  so  can  choose  his  word ;  he 
writes,  says  eye,  and  passes  it. 

6th  player  says  heart  when  he  writes  his  line. 

/th  player  must  rhyme  with  eye. 

8th  player  must  rhyme  with  heart,  and  the  general  theme  of  "An 
Old  Man's  Woes  "  must  be  maintained ;  and  this  result  or  better  may 

be  obtained : 

THE  OLD  MAN'S  WOES. 

There  was  an  old  man  his  head  was  bald, 

Wild  the  winds  whistled  out  of  doors, 
Beneath  his  feet  a  kitten  squalled, 

The  mice  gallivanted  about  the  floors. 

The  widow  transfixed  him  with  her  eye, 

The  old  man  felt  a  pain  in  his  heart, 
But  he  thought  it  prudent  to  up  and_^x, 

So  he  rode  away  in  a  grocer's  cart. 

11.  The  New  Novelists. 
Give  each  of  the  company  half  a  sheet  of  cap,  and  announce  the 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  543 

theme  of  a  novel,  and  the  name  of  the  hero  and  heroine ;  as,  theme, 
The  Castle  of  Horrors ;  heroine,  Bertha  Martha  Mary  Jane  Wolf- 
gang; hero,  Sylvester  Lucius  Otrander.  Each  of  the  company 
writes  a  chapter  of  their  history,  either  of  a  few  lines  or  more,  one 
being  appointed  to  open  and  one  to  end  the  tale,  while  chance  directs 
what  lies  between.  The  story  is  finally  read,  and  as  in  one  chapter 
the  girl  appears  blue-eyed  and  golden-haired,  and  her  lover  may  be 
an  artless  shepherd,  and  in  the  next  she  is  a  dark,  fierce  Cleopatra, 
and  he  a  robber  knight,  and  now  they  die,  and  anon  come  to  life  in 
the  next  chapter,  it  becomes  very  amusing. 

12.  The  Lady's  Maid. 

Each  having  taken  the  name  of  some  article  of  dress,  chairs  are 
placed  for  all  the  party  but  one,  so  as  to  leave  one  chair  too  few. 
They  all  sit  down  but  one,  who  is  called  the  Lady's  Maid,  and  stands 
in  the  centre;  she  then  calls  out,  "My  Lady's  up  and  wants  her 
shoes,"  when  the  one  who  has  taken  that  name  jumps  up  and  calls 
"  Shoes !  "  sitting  down  directly.  If  any  one  does  not  rise  as  soon 
as  called,  she  must  forfeit.  Sometimes  she  says,  "  My  Lady  wants 
her  whole  toilet,"  then  every  one  must  jump  up  and  change  chairs, 
and  as  there  is  a  chair  too  few,  of  course  it  occasions  a  scramble, 
and  whoever  is  left  standing  must  be  Lady's  Maid,  and  call  to  the 

others  as  before. 

13.  The  Auctioneer. 

The  object  here  is  to  make  an  acrostic  on  some  piece  of  furniture  in 
the  room.  Choose  the  furniture,  as  the  sideboard,  the  pier-glass,  the 
centre-table,  and  give  each  player  one  letter  of  the  word,  and  auction 
it  off  by  barter,  one  letter  at  a  time.  Thus,  take  the  pianoforte,  and 
the  auctioneer  says  (having  written  the  letters  on  a  card,  and,  as  he 
speaks,  writing  each  offer  opposite  its  letter) : 

"I  have  just  returned  from  the  city,  where  I  purchased  a  piano- 
forte, but  I  wish  to  barter  it  [speaking  to  the  first  person] :  what  will 
you  give  me  for  the  first  letter,  P?  "  The  first  person  and  the  other 
nine  make  consecutively  their  offers,  and  the  seller  carefully  record* 
them,  after  which  he  says : 


544  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  You  propose  to  barter  for  my 

P  a  Pen.  F  a  Fan. 

I  an  Inkbottle.  O  an  Oar. 

A  an  AncKor.  R  a  Ruby. 

N  a  Newspaper.  T  a  Teacup. 

O  an  Orchard.  E  an  Evergreen. 

"  I  accept  the  offer,  and  this  is  the  way  I  intend  to  use  the  articles 
so  acquired. 

"  The  Ruby  I  will  have  mounted  in  a  ring,  and  will  ever  treasure  it 
in  remembrance  of  the  donor.  The  Fan  I  will  present  to  a  certain 
lady  who,  at  present,  shall  be  nameless.  Then  I  will  ride  into  the 
country,  where,  sitting  in  my  Orchard,  I  will  read  my  Newspaper, 
and  with  my  Pen  and  Inkbottle  write  letters  to  you,  my  dear  friends, 
from  whose  agreeable  society  I  shall  then  be  absent.  When  tired 
of  writing  I  will  proceed  to  the  river,  where,  with  my  Oar,  I  will  row 
on  the  water  till  evening,  then  Anchor  the  boat ;  and,  after  taking  tea 
from  my  Teacup,  will  go  into  the  garden  and  superintend  the 
planting  of  my  Evergreen. 

14.  Scissors  Crossed  or  not  Crossed. 

Each  player  in  his  turn  passes  to  his  neighbor  a  pair  of  scissors, 
or  any  other  object,  saying :  "  I  give  you  my  scissors  crossed  (or  not 
crossed)." 

If  the  former,  the  player,  as  he  utters  the  words,  must  cross  his 
arms  or  his  feet  in  a  natural  manner.  If  the  latter,  he  must  be 
careful  to  keep  them  separate.  The  person  who  receives  the 
scissors  must  be  careful  to  imitate  this  action.  Many  persons,  from 
mere  want  of  attention,  render  themselves  liable  to  forfeits  in  this 
game,  and  without  knowing  why :  their  surprise  produces  the  chief 
part  of  the  amusement. 

15.  The  Mole. 

This  simple  game  consists  merely  in  saying  to  one  of  the  players : 

"Have  you  seen  my  mole?" 

The  latter  answers,  "  Yes,  I  have  seen  your  mole." 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  545 

"Do  you  know  what  my  mole  is  doing?  " 
"  Yes,  I  do  know  what  your  mole  is  doing." 
"  Can  you  do  as  it  does  ?  " 

The  person  who  replies  must  shut  his  eyes  at  each  answer ;  if  he 
fails  to  do  so  he  pays  a  forfeit 

X. 

Fox  and  Geese  played  on  a  board  with  holes  and  pegs  is  a  very 
pretty  game,  and  gives  occasion  for  some  constructive  ability  and 
neatness  if  the  board  is  of  home  manufacture.  Such  boards  may  be 
very  nicely  made  of  .white  wood,  the  border  riveted  on  of  dark  wood, 
the  lines  between  the  holes  painted  in  red,  brown,  or  blue,  the  holes 
smooth,  the  geese  white  wood  with  goose-heads  cut  on  them,  the 
fox  red,  with  a  fox-head.  Such  a  board  is  a  pretty  present,  and  will 
pleasantly  occupy  many  hours  in  the  making.  A  mere  simple  board 
furnished  with  the  requisite  holes,  seventeen  pegs  for  geese,  and  one 
big  peg  for  a  fox,  can  also  be  used.  The  object  is  to  shut  in  the  fox 
between  a  double  square  of  geese,  or  between  the  margin  of  the 
holes  and  a  double  row  of  geese. 

2.  Jack-Straws  furnish  another   nice    game,  and  very  beautiful 
straws  can  be  whittled,  fashioned  like  bells,  leaves,  swords,  sickles, 
knives,  axes,  tomahawks,  fool's-caps,  wheat-heads,  arrows,  spears, 
and  an  infinity  of  other  objects,  all  on  long  stems. 
XI.— Curious  Questions. 

1.  What  two  occupations  extend  from  pole  to  pole? 

2.  Which  is  most,  six  dozen  dozen,  or  half  a  dozen  dozen? 

Can  you  tell  me  why 
A  deceitful  eye 
Can  better  descry 
Than  you  or  I, 
On  how  many  toes 
A  pussy-cat  goes  ? 

Brothers  and  sisters  I  had  none, 

But  that  man's  father  was  my  father's  son. 

What  relation  then  ? 
35 


646  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

5.  Can  you  place  four  fives  so  as  to  make  six  and  a  half? 

6.  What  two  numbers  multiplied  together  will  produce  seven? 

7.  What  is  the  difference  between  twice  twenty-five,  and  twice  five 
and  twenty  ? 

g_  If  five  times  four  are  thirty-three, 

What  will  a  fourth  of  twenty  be  ? 

9.  There  were  eight  gallons  of  wine  in  a  cask.     Of  this  two  men 
owned  each  four  gallons.     They  must  divide  it,  but  had  only,  to 
measure  it  -with,  one  three-gallon  keg,  and  one  five-gallon  keg:  how 
would  they  manage? 

10.  How  can  you  plant  ten  apple  trees,  so  that  there  shall  be  five 
rows,  and  four  trees  in  each  row? 

1 1.  A  man  had  a  fox,  a  goose,  and  a  measure  of  corn  to  ferry  over 
the  river,  but  his  boat  would  not  carry  all  three  at  the  same  time. 
How  shall  he  manage?     If  he  leaves  the  fox  and  goose  together,  the 
fox  will  eat  the  goose.     If  he  leaves  the  goose  and  corn  together, 
the  goose  will  eat  the  corn  ? 

12.  How  can  you  plant  ten  plum  trees  in  equal  rows  having  ten 
rows,  and  three  trees  in  each  row? 

1 

XII.— Diagrams. 

1.  Cut  a  square  of  paper  three  inches  on  each  side,  and  then  di- 
vide it  into  seventeen  smaller  but  equal  squares. 

2.  Take  a  piece  of  paper  two  inches  wide  and  three  long,  and  take 
a  square  one  inch  each  way  out    of  the  lower  left-hand  corner. 
Throw  this  little  square  away,  and  divide  what  is  left  into  three  pieces 
which  will  make  a  perfect  square. 

3.  Take  a  piece  of  pasteboard  six  inches  long  and  three  wide.    Di- 
vide it  into  two  equal  squares.     Cut  one  of  these  squares  into  two 
even  triangles.     Cut  the  other  square  into  one  small  square,  one 
lozenge,  and  four  triangles. 

How  will  you  do  it,  and  how  many  figures  can  you  make  of  these 
pieces,  using  all  in  each  figure  ? 

4.  Take  fifteen  parlor  matches,  and  lay  them  on  a  flat  surface,  so 


£  UREA  U  MISCELLAN  Y.  547 

that  they  form  five  complete  squares  with  united  edges.  Now  re- 
move three  matches,  in  such  a  way  that  you  have  three  complete 
squares  left,  with  their  inner  corners  united. 

XIII.— The  Gnome. 

Let  a  person  with  a  smooth  white  hand  close  the  fist  so  that  the 
end  of  the  thumb  appears  between  the  middle  and  ring  fingers ;  the 
first  finger  is  thus  the  forehead,  the  second  the  nose,  the  thumb  the 
moving  tongue,  the  third  finger  the  chin  of  the  gnome.  Put  a  black 
shoe-button  on  each  side  the  knuckle  between  the  first  and  second 
fingers,  drape  this  face  in  a  kerchief,  and  a  most  horrible  gnome-like 
face  is  the  result. 

1.  The  handkerchief  properly  tied,  with  two  pert  little  corners  left 
for  ears,  and  a  long  corner  twisted  for  a  tail,  becomes  a  very  respect- 
able mouse. 

2.  Lengthen  the   ears  and  tip  them  back,  draw  in  the  tail  and 
increase  the  body,  and  you  get  a  fair  rabbit. 

3.  Hold  the  hand  with  two  fingers  erect,  drape  it  in  a  kerchief  to 
represent  a  veiled  figure,  and  addressing  it  in  a  rhymed  or  prose, 
comic  monologue,  bowing  and  curtesying  the  figure  with  the  con- 
cealed fingers,  you  keep  up  an  amusing  correspondence  of  word  and 
motion. 

XIV.— Parlor  Magic. 

1.  To  Balance  a  Coin. 

Stick  a  needle  in  the  cork  of  a  large  bottle.  Take  a  second  cork 
and  splitting  the  lower  edge  insert  the  top  of  a  dime  or  nickel ;  now 
stick  in  the  sides  of  this  cork  two  small  pen-knives  of  equal  weight, 
or  two  heavy  darning-needles.  Balance  your  coin  on  the  point  of 
the  needle  that  comes  through  the  cork,  and  by  the  knives  it  will  be 
balanced,  so  that  it  will  spin  round  without  falling. 

2.  To  Bottle  an  Egg. 

Take  a  small  fresh  egg  and  soak  it  for  several  days  in  very  strong 
vinegar:  the  acid  will  destroy  the  hardness  of  the  egg-shell,  which 
consists  of  its  lime,  so  that  the  egg  will  look  just  as  ever,  but  will  be 


548  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

elastic  and  capable  of  compression.  Get  a  bottle  with  a  rather  wide 
neck,  which  is  evidently  smaller  than  the  egg,  and  wager  that  you  can 
bottle  an  egg  in  it.  Then  get  your  egg,  wipe  it,  handle  it  mildly, 
and  it  will  elongate  under  the  pressure  of  your  fingers  and  enter  the 
bottle.  You  should  have  the  bottle  half  full  of  very  strong  lime 
water.  In  a  day  or  two  the  egg-shell  will  be  as  hard  as  ever.  You 
can  pour  off  the  water,  and  have  a  hard-shelled  egg  which  has  been 
put  in  a  bottle  with  a  neck  only  two-thirds  of  the  diameter  of  the 

egg- 

3.  To  Eat  a  Candle. 

Cut  a  piece  of  apple  the  shape  of  a  tallow  candle  end.  You  can 
crowd  a  bit  of  wick  in  the  bottom,  but  put  a  slip  of  peeled  almond 
in  the  top  for  a  wick:  it  looks  just  like  a  tallow  candle  end.  To 
prove  it  so,  light  your  almond  and  let  it  burn  a  minute ;  then  blow  it 

out  and  eat  it. 

4.  The  Flying  Stick. 

Take  a  bit  of  wood  one-half  inch  in  diameter  and  five  or  six  long, 
round  it  neatly  and  stick  a  pair  of  penknives  in  the  upper  end ;  now 
balance  it  on  your  thumb-nail,  and  it  will  spin  as  you  touch  the 
knives. 

5.  To  Balance  an  Egg. 

Lay  a  looking-glass,  face  upwards,  on  a  perfectly  flat  table :  the 
surface  must  be  even.  Then  you  can  make  an  egg  stand  on  it  on  the 
little  or  large  end  as  you  like.  N.  B. — The  secret  is  that  you  must 
have  privately  thoroughly  shaken  the  egg  until  the  white  and  yolk 
are  entirely  incorporated.  Then  it  will  balance  until  it  begins  to 
settle. 

6.  To  Lift  a  Bottle  with  a  Straw. 

Take  a  stout  straw  and  bend  it  at  the  thickest  part  at  an  acute 
angle,  making  the  shorter  of  the  ends  of  the  exact  height  of  the 
bottle  you  are  to  lift,  measuring  from  the  bottom  to  the  angle  of  the 
neck.  Thrust  your  straw  in  the  bottle,  holding  by  the  longer  end, 
and  the  short  end  will  spring  out  against  the  side  of  the  bottle, 
forming  a  V.  Now  you  can  lift  the  bottle  by  the  straw. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  549 

7.  The  Dancing  Dervishes. 

Cut  figures  of  pasteboard,  paint  them  or  dress  them  in  tissue  or 
tinsel :  they  are  prettier  with  some  fine  floss  for  wigs,  glued  carefully 
on  the  heads.  Run  bristles  in  the  edge  of  the  card-board  skirts, 
which  skirts  should  not  be  longer  than  to  the  knee,  and  let  the 
bristles  be  as  long  as  the  legs  of  the  images :  use  three  white  bristles 
which  will  be  invisible.  These  images  will  dance  in  time  if  you  set 
them  inside  an  open  piano  near  the  wires,  and  play  a  dance  tune ;  or, 
put  them  on  a  light  table  and  play  a  tune  with  the  ends  of  your 
fingers  on  the  table  top. 

2.  These  dervishes  can   be  made  with  a  cork   body,  pasteboard 
head,  arms,  and  legs,  tissue  clothes,  and  four  bristles,  and  will  dance 
nicely  on  a  piano,  or  on  a  light  table,  if  a  violin  is  played  touching 
the  table  edge. 

3.  Make  sitting  dervishes  of  cork  or  light  wood,  not    over  two 
inches  high.      Dress  them  handsomely:  if  you  put  lead  in  their 
heads  under  their  caps,  they  will  always  stand  on  their  heads  no 
matter  how  you  place  them.      If  the  lead  is  on  the  back  of  the 
figure,  they  will  fall  over  on  their  backs  invariably ;  if  it  is  in  the 
base  of  the  image  they  will  sit  erect,  no  matter  if  you  stand  them 
on  their  heads.     By  making  several  dervishes,  putting  shot  in  a  dif- 
ferent part  of  each,  they  behave  very  oddly. 

8.  The  Obstinate  Card. 

Take  a  visiting  card  and  bend  over  the  two  ends  equally  so  it  can 
stand  on  them  like  a  bench ;  but  do  not  break  the  card,  nor  turn  it 
on  a  sharp  line.  Set  it  on  a  table  and  ask  some  one  to  blow  it  over. 
Many  efforts  will  be  made  without  success.  To  blow  over  the  card 
it  is  needful  to  blow  on  the  table,  sharply,  at  some  distance  from  the 

card. 

9.  Water  Witchery. 

Take  a  goblet  and  fill  it  with  water,  put  a  piece  of  paper  over  it; 
place  the  palm  of  your  hand  firmly  on  the  paper,  and  hold  it  pressed 
closely  for  a  minute  or  two ;  then  take  the  foot  of  the  goblet  between 


550  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

two  fingers  of  the  other  hand  and  invert  it,  keeping  one  hand  well 
pressed  against  the  paper.  Now,  in  a  moment,  you  may  remove  the 
hand  that  presses  the  paper,  and  atmospheric  pressure  from  beneath 
will  sustain  the  paper  in  its  place,  and  uphold  the  water  in  the  goblet 
for  two  or  three  minutes.  It  is  well  to  practise  this  performance 
before  exhibiting. 

10.  The  Whirlpool. 

Take  a  saucer  and  fill  it  with  water.  Have  some  gum  camphor 
powdered  to  the  size  of  coarse  sand.  Drop  this  on  the  water,  and  it 
will  begin  to  go  round  and  round,  and  will  keep  up  the  rotary  motion 
for  some  minutes. 

11.  The  Magie  Egg. 

Put  pin-holes  in  the  ends  of  an  egg :  blow  it  empty.  Wager  that 
you  can  make  an  egg  float  in  a  bowl  of  clear  water.  Get  your  blown 
egg  and  it  will  float  safe  enough. 

XV.— Parlor  Paradoxes. 

1.  How  many  kings  have  been  crowned  in  England  since  William 
the  Norman  ? 

2.  How  can  you  take  one  from  nineteen  and  leave  twenty  ? 

3.  How  can  you  work  out  this  example  ? 

6-  9 
9 — 10 
40 — 50  —  6? 

4.  How  can  you  increase  nine  until  it  is  six  ? 

5.  How  do  you  explain  that  a  body  three  inches  deep,  nine  inches 
in  its  greatest  length,  four  inches  in  its  greatest  breadth,  contains  a 
solid  foot? 

XVI.— Useful  Games. 

/.  The  Spice-Mill. 

One  person  keeps  the  spice-mill :  the  other  players  sit  in  a  row. 
First  Player — "  I  have  come  to  buy  pepper." 
Leader—"  What  is  it  like  ?  " 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY  661 

The  player  must  describe  the  appearance  of  pepper. 

Leader — "  Where  shall  I  get  it?" 

The  player  must  describe  where  and  how  it  grows. 

Leader — "  What  will  you  pay  for  it  ?  " 

The  player  must  give  the  proper  market  price. 

So  on  through  all  the  spices,  cloves,  cinnamon,  mace,  nutmeg, 
ginger,  allspice ;  and  when  a  player  makes  a  mistake  he  pays  a  for- 
feit. Forfeits  will  be  many,  and  it  will  be  clearly  seen  that  most 
people  know  very  little  about  spice.  If  the  game  is  played  a  dozen 
times  in  a  season,  the  players  privately  posting  themselves  from  an 
encyclopaedia,  it  will  be  very  improving.  N.  B. — One  of  the  forfeits  in 
this  game  is  to  make  the  player  eat  some  of  the  spice  of  which  he 

was  ignorant. 

2.  The  Little  Cooks. 

The  crafty  teacher  of  a  school  for  little  girls  invented  this  play  for 
rainy-day  recess  and  nooning.  The  players  are  in  a  semi-circle,  the 
leader  in  the  centre. 

Leader — "  The  king  is  to  be  married  :  what  will  you  send  to  the 
wedding  feast  ?  " 

Each  player  names  some  article.  If  it  is  not  suitable  to  eat,  as 
"  soap,"  or  "  candles,"  a  forfeit  is  required.  If  it  is  eatable,  then  the 
demand  is,  How  will  you  make  it  ?  The  Little  Cook  must  then  give 
a  recipe,  and  pay  a  forfeit  for  every  mistake. 

Thus — The  king  is  to  be  married  :  what  will 'you  send  to  the  feast? 

First  Player — "  Walnut  macaroons." 

Leader — "  How  will  you  make  them  ?  " 

First  Player — "  I  will  beat  the  whites  of  two  eggs  very  stiff;  I  will 
beat  in  a  cup  of  white  sugar ;  I  will  put  it  on  buttered  paper  in  spoon- 
fuls and  sprinkle  the  tops  with  walnut  meats." 

Other  Players — "  Forfeit !  forfeit !  The  king  cannot  eat  them  ;  you 
forgot  to  bake  them." 

Leader — "  The  king  is  to  be  married :  what  will  you  send  to  the 
feast?" 

Second  Player—"  Coffee." 


552  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Leader — "  How  will  you  make  it  ?  " 
Second  Player  describes  properly. 
Leader — "  The  king,"  etc. 
Third  Player — "  Brine." 

Players — "  He  can't  eat  brine.     Forfeit !  forfeit !  "  etc.,  etc. 
Children  get  interested  in  this,  and  study  up  recipes,  sometimes 
writing  new  pnes  in  little  books,  and  the  game  is  quite  useful. 

3.  The  Queen's  Birthday. 

This  is  played  much  as  the  preceding  game,  the  presents  being 
of  jewels,  lace,  dress-goods,  plumes,  etc.,  and  each  donor  being 
required  to  tell  where  he  will  get  his  gift,  or  of  what  it  is  made ;  ex- 
plaining thus,  Ostrich  feathers,  from  a  great  bird  in  Africa ;  Dia- 
monds, "from  a  mine  in  India,  and  they  shall  be  cut  in  Holland;" 
Velvet,  made  from  silk  threads  in  Genoa,  and  so  on. 

XVII.— Sabbath  Interests. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  Sabbath  should  be  made  a  cheer- 
ful and  helpful  day  to  young  people.  Those  who  have  from  child- 
hood been  well  brought  up,  and  usefully  entertained  on  Sabbath,  will 
by  the  time  they  are  fifteen  or  sixteen  find  the  whole  day  happily 
occupied  with  two  church  services,  Sabbath  school,  the  study  of  the 
Sabbath  lesson,  the  reading  of  the  church  papers,  which  every  family 
should  take,  as  suits  their  own  creed,  and  the  reading  of  useful  and 
interesting  religious  books.  But  from  the  time  the  child  is  two  or  three 
years  old  until  it  is  fifteen,  the  parents  must  exert  themselves  to 
mingle  pleasure  with  instruction,  or  the  child  will  fall  into  the  habit  of 
desecrating  or  disliking  the  best  day  of  the  week.  The  primary  object 
of  the  Sabbath  is  religious  instruction ;  the  more  of  this  the  child  can 
get  the  better — always  provided  that  it  is  given  in  a  pleasing  way, 
which  shall  make  a  happy  impression  on  the  child  and  remain 
well  fixed  in  memory.  Where  there  are  children  of  various  ages  in 
the  family,  the  elder  should  unite  in  the  instructing  and  entertaining 
of  the  younger  ones. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  553 

Every  family  should  have  a  Concordance,  an  illustrated  Bible  Dic- 
tionary, and,  if  possible,  illustrations  of  Scripture  scenes.  The  various 
religious  societies  publish  very  beautiful  cards,  in  sets  of  a  dozen  or 
more  in  colors,  illustrating  scenes  from  Bible  history.  Every  family 
should  have  a  few  packets  of  these,  and  they  should  only  be  brought 
out  on  Sabbath.  Thus  the  juveniles  will  not  weary  of  them,  and 
they  will  remain  a  pleasure  connected  with  the  day.  We  shall  begin 
with  indicating  ways  to  attract  the  very  youngest  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  rise  to  matters  suited  to  entertain  and  instruct  older  youth. 

/.  Story-Telling. 

Parents  should  not  say  that  they  cannot  tell  stories  to  their  chil- 
dren ;  that  they  do  not  know  how.  They  are  bound  to  learn  how 
if  they  have  children.  True,  there  are  many  well-written  books  of 
Bible  stories,  as  the  old-fashioned  "  Peep  of  Day,"  "  Line  upon  Line," 
"  Precept  upon  Precept,"  and  more  recent  works,  all  very  fit  to  read 
to  children ;  but  the  read  story  will  not  have  the  impressiveness  of 
the  told  story,  and  the  parents  should  seek  to  associate  the  Scripture 
tale  with  their  own  love  and  memory  in  the  child's  heart.  So,  though 
some  stories  may  be  read  for  variety,  the  father  and  mother  should 
tell  the  Bible  narratives  to  their  children.  As  they  tell  the  tale  they 
can  show  on  the  illuminated,  card  the  picture  of  the  event,  and  thus 
instruct  the  child  through  eye  and  ear.  Many  of  the  events  of  Scrip- 
ture have  been  made  into  verses  or  little  poems,  and  these  can  be 
repeated  with  the  story  to  the  child,  for  all  children  naturally  love 
verse.  Poetry  belongs  alike  to  the  infancy  and  maturity  of  the  race. 

2.  The  Noah's  Arli. 

We  have  known  a  Noah's  Ark,  a  large  and  nice  one,  kept  with 
the  best  results  for  little  people's  Sunday.  The  ark  was  not  handed 
over  to  be  frolicked  with  or  broken,  but  the  story  of  the  flood  was 
graphically  told.  The  history  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noah  and  their  sons, 
good  and  bad,  was  repeated  as  these  wooden  individuals  were  trotted 
out  for  inspection.  Then  the  animals  were  set  up,  and  when  they 


554  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

were  in  file  the  pictures  of  said  animals  found  in  the  Bible  Dictionaiy 
were  carefully  shown  as  better  representations,  and  then  the  older 
children  in  turn  found,  by  aid  of  the  Concordance,  all  the  texts  that 
referred  to  each  one.  The  ark  was  built,  the  animals  housed,  the 
flood  came  on  one  Sabbath,  and  during  the  week  the  inmates  of  the 
ark  were  supposed  to  float  on  a  stormy  sea  of  the  top  shelf  of  the 
closet.  Next  Sabbath  it  was  in  order  to  tell  how  the  waters  sub- 
sided ;  the  raven  and  dove  went  forth ;  the  voyagers  came  to  port ; 
the  sacrifice  was  offered ;  the  bow  in  the  cloud  appeared.  It  always 
pays  to  make  the  Scriptures  a  living  fact  to  children. 

5.  The  Game  of  Scripture  Numbers. 

Arrange  the  children  in  a  class.  Let  the  eldest  be  at  the  head. 
Now  No.  I  must  give  out  a  number  that  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 
If  he  gives  out  a  number  not  mentioned  he  goes  to  the  foot.  When 
he  gives  out  a  number  all  the  others  tell  some  place  where  it  is  men- 
tioned ;  and  the  places  that  are  omitted  the  leader  gives.  When  all 
are  done  naming  references,  look  in  the  Concordance  and  see  if  any 
were  left  out. 

Thus :  No.  I  says,  FORTY  ! 

The  class  expound  where  they  have  seen  forty  in  the  Bible. 

Jesus  fasted  forty  days. 

Moses  was  forty  days  on  the  mount. 

Moses  was  forty  years  old  when  he  fled  into  Midian. 

Elijah  fasted  forty  days. 

Forty  young  men  conspired  to  kill  Paul. 

Forty  stripes  were  given  to  Paul,  save  one. 

Forty  kine  were  sent  by  Jacob  to  Esau. 

Forty  years  was  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 

David  reigned  forty  years.     And  so  for  many  more. 

Or  two  is  the  number  given. 

Lamech  took  him  two  wives. 

Jeroboam  made  two  calves  to  be  worshipped. 

Two  she-bears  came  to  devour  the  mocking  children. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  555 

There  were  two  tables  of  the  law. 
The  disciples  were  sent  out  two  by  two.     And  so  on. 
Seven,  twenty,  twelve,  one  hundred  and  twenty,  one  hundred  and 
forty-four,  and  others,  are  good  numbers. 

4.  The  Game  of  Ten  Questions. 

One  player  makes  up  his  mind  as  to  some  character  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  and  the  others  can  ask  ten  questions  (not  including  such 
an  one  as  What  name?},  and  from  the  answers  the  character  must  be 
guessed.  Thus  :  "  I  have  thought  of  a  character." 

1.  Man  or  woman?     Ans.  Woman. 

2.  Old  or  New  Testament  time  ?     Ans.  New. 

3.  In  what  country  did  she  live  ?     Ans.  Asia-Minor. 

4.  What  was  most  notable  about  her  ?     Ans.  Love  of  the  Scrip- 

tures. 

5.  What  great  thing  did  she  do?     Ans.  Taught  a  boy. 

6.  What  kind  of  a  boy  was  he  ?     Ans.  Good. 

7.  Was  he  her  son  ?     Ans.  No. 

8.  Jew  or  Gentile  ?    Ans.  Jewess. 

9.  Was  she  married  ?     Ans.  Yes. 

10.  What  relation  was  she  to  that  boy?     Ans.  Grandmother. 
O,  I  know,  it  was  Lois. — 2  Tim.  i.  5. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  catch  in  the  answer,  as: 
"  I  have  thought  of  a  character." 

1.  Male  or  female  ?     Ans.  Female. 

2.  In  what  country  ?    Ans.  Chaldea. 

3.  What  age  of  the  world  ?    Ans.  Mosaic. 

4.  For  what  was  she  noted  ?     Ans.  Amiability  and  faithfulness. 

5.  Was  she  a  servant  ?     Ans.  Yes. 

6.  What  especial  thing  did  she  do  ?     Ans.  Prophesied. 

7.  Who  were  her  parents?     Ans.  None  given. 

8.  Did  she  have  any  children?     Ans.  We  are  not  told. 

9.  Good  or  bad  ?     Ans.  Neither. 

10.  Did  she  get  to  heaven?     Ans.  No. 

"  What,  no  one  guesses  ?     It  was  Baalam's  Ass ! " 


556  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

5.  The  Caravan  into  Egypt. 

Here  each  one  contributes  something  to  a  caravan  going  down 
into  Egypt,  giving  the  Scripture  allusions  to  whatever  he  sends. 
Thus: 

ist.  I  shall  send  a  leader  of  the  caravan :  his  name  will  be  Jonadab, 
and  he  will  be  descended  from  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,  who 
was  living  in  the  days  of  Jehu.  Then  2  Kings  x.  15  ;  I  Ch.  ii.  55  ; 
and  Jere.  xxxv.  6-10,  must  be  read. 

Second  Player — I  shall  send  down  to  Egypt  in  this  caravan,  Myrrh, 
from  the  Arabian  forests.  I  shall  get  it  from  a  tree  nine  feet  high, 
with  a  thorny  trunk.  It  shall  be  of  the  best,  such  as  was  used  for 
making  the  holy  ointment  in  the  tabernacle ;  such  as  Esther  was 
given  at  the  court  of  Persia;  such  as  Solomon  sung  about  in  the 
Song  of  Songs;  and  as  was  used  in  Christ's  time  for  embalming  the 
dead. 

^d.  I  shall  send  honey  such  as  drips  over  the  rocks  in  Palestine : 
such  honey  as  John  the  Baptist  ate  in  the  wilderness,  and  Jonathan 
tasted  after  the  battle,  and  David  tells  of  in  the  nineteenth  Psalm. 

4//J.  I  shall  halt  the  caravan  to  take  a  noonday  meal  near  Dothan, 
where  Joseph  was  sold  by  his  brothers.  They  shall  go  to  look  into 
the  pit  where  Reuben  had  him  cast,  and  for  their  dinner  they  shall 
eat  a  roast  kid. 

Sometimes  a  player  will  make  a  mistake  by  sending  into  Egypt 
things  that  belong  in  Egypt,  or  by  getting  into  the  caravan  things 
that  are  not  found  in  the  East.  Then  if  they  cannot  prove  themselves 
right  they  must  add  two  articles  to  the  caravan  stores. 

6.  Capping  Bible  Texts. 

This  is  an  excellent  exercise  for  increasing  a  knowledge  of  the 
Scripture,  and  aiding  memory.  It  proceeds  on  the  same  plan  as  the 
capping  previously  given.  One  chooses  a  cap,  as  Come ;  and  the 
others  give  out  texts  or  sentences  beginning  with  it,  as,  The  cap  is 
Come. 

I.  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  etc. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  657 

2.  Come,  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord,  though, 

etc. 

3.  Come,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me,  and  I  will  teach  you,  etc. 

4.  Come  and  see. 

5.  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared 

•   for  you. 

6.  Come,  take  up  the  cross  and  follow  me. 

7.  Come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace  that  we  may  obtain  mercy. 

8.  Come  up  hither. 

9.  Come  forth  and  flee  from  the  land  of  the  north. 

10.  Come  down  ere  my  child  die. 

11.  Come  not  down  to  take  anything  from  the  house. 

12.  Come  with  me  from  Lebanon,  my  spouse,  with  me  from  Leba- 

non. 
Or  let  the  cap  be  Lo :  then  the  verses  might  run : 

1.  Lo  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  etc. 

2.  Lo  I  come,  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  etc. 

3.  Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

4.  Lo  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles. 

5.  Lo,  nothing  worthy  of  death  is  done  unto  him. 

6.  Lo  I  have  told  you. 

7.  Lo  here,  or  lo  there,  go  not  after  them. 

8.  Lo  the  heavens  were  opened  and  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God,  etc. 

9.  Lo  I  begin  to  bring  evil  on  the  city. 

10.  Lo  I  die,  in  my  grave  which  I  have  digged  for  me  in  the  land, 

etc. 

1 1.  Lo  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  have  a  son. 

12.  Lo  I  have  sinned  and  done  wickedly. 

Such  words  as  Hearken,  Where,  Provide,  Consider,  and  Out,  are 

good  caps. 

7.  Capping  Hymns. 

Next  to  capping  texts  will  come  capping  hymns.  This  is  a  good 
exercise  in  acquainting  young  people  with  the  hymnology  of  the 
church,  and  causing  them  to  pay  attention  during  the  reading  and 
singing  in  service. 


538  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Take  such  a  cap  as  Alas.  Then  verses  like  these  suggest  them- 
selves : 

T  .     "Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed, 

And  did  my  Sovereign  die. 
2. 

"Alas  !  what  hourly  dangers  rise, 
What  snares  beset  my  way. 

3- 

"Alas  !  how  poor  and  little  worth 

Are  all  these  glittering  toys  of  earth. 

"Alas  !  how  oft  this  wretched  heart 
Hath  wandered  from  the  Lord. 

If  Come  is  the  cap,  verses  will  be  plenty ;  as, 
I. 

"Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy, 
Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore." 
2. 

"Come,  Holy  Spirit,  calm  my  mind, 

And  help  me  to  approach  my  God." 

"  Come  every  pious  heart 
That  loves  the  Saviour's  name." 

"Come,  dearest  Lord,  descend  and  dwell 
By  faith  and  love  in  every  breast." 

"Come,  Holy  Spirit,  Heavenly  Dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers." 

6. 

"Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing, 
Tune  my  heart  to  sing  thy  grace." 

7. 

"Come,  ye  that  love  the  Lord, 

And  let  your  joys  be  known." 

8.  Enigmas. 

Scriptural  Enigmas  occupy  pleasantly  the  time,  while  they  occasion 
a  careful  searching  of  the  Scriptures.  The  young  people  may  not 
only  solve  them,  but  make  them  for  themselves.  Many  of  the  re- 
ligious papers,  especially  the  Sunday-school  papers,  publish  a  few 
enigmas  in  every  issue,  and  no  doubt  a  small  book  devoted  entirely 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  559 

to  Scripture  enigmas  would  have  a  large  sale,  and  be  very  useful  in 
families.  As  enigmas  are  so  plenty,  we  only  give  one  or  two  as 
examples : 

The  first  letter  of  advice  to  a  sleeper. 

The  first  letter  of  caution  to  an  angry  person. 

The  first  letter  of  directions  for  a  journey. 

The  first  letter  of  instruction  in  unselfishness 
will  give  the  name  of  a  distinguished  person.     Answer :  Abel. 

BIBLICAL  ENIGMA. — Fifty-nine  letters. 

13,  39,  15,  35,  ii,  53,  28,  33,  14,  59,  32,  19,  37,  54,  a  Roman 
officer  who  saved  Paul's  life. 

58,  28,  25,  41,  a  woman  noted  for  her  affection  to  her  mother-in- 
law. 

i,  41,  8,  24,  59,  43,  45,  13,  21,  53,  25,  48,  10,  4,  57,  46,  50,  what 
the  Bible  compares  to  a  spider's  web. 

13,  6,  19,  30,  built  the  first  city  according  to  the  Scriptures. 

22,  49,  13,  15,  16,  53,  27,  40,  the  surname  of  a  traitor. 

43,  2I»  53,  36,  5,  a  sin  to  which  the  prophet  Isaiah  attributes  the 
destruction  of  Moab. 

20,  42,  21,  46,  3,  9,  40,  that  upon  which  God  pronounced  the 
first  curse. 

55,  27,  47,  36,  that  to  which  the  trial  of  faith  is  compared. 

36,  17,  15,  40,  2,  the  wages  of  sin. 

I,  22,  23,  38,  15,  40,  18,  46,  19,  56,  12,  49,  26,  58,  a  king  of  As- 
syria who  reigned  at  the  time  of  Pekah,  king  of  Israel. 

5 2,  31,  34,  7>  51,  35,  the  place* where  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb  will  be  spread. 

44,  56,  19,  29,  24,  15,  one  who  in  the  midst  of  starvation  prophe- 
sied plenty  on  the  morrow. 

The  whole  is  a  verse  in  Psalms. 

Answer:  The  heavens  declare  his  righteousness,  and  all  the  people 
see  his  glory. — Psalms  xcvii.  6. 


560  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

SCRIPTURAL  ENIGMA. 

My  25,  22,  65,  58,  42,  43,  34,  24,  25,  12,  35,  4,  was  one  of  the 
seven  cities  containing  Christian  churches  to  which  the  Apocalyptic 
admonitions  were  addressed. 

My  64,  16,  13,  43,  52,  4,  49,  was  a  man  who  was  reluctantly  pre- 
vailed upon  to  conduct  a  prophet  to  his  master. 

My  i,  13,  16,  21,  59,  32,  36,  a  city  whose  foundations  were  sup- 
posed to  have  been  laid  at  the  same  time  with  those  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel. 

My  3,  9,  42,  58,  66,  62,  43,  10,  19,  50,  is  a  precious  stone:  a 
variety  of  amorphous  quartz. 

My  2,  5,  8,  21,  3,  27,  n,  6,  was  a  young  man  mentioned  as  at- 
tending upon  St.  Paul's  preaching  late  at  night 

My  7,  43,  17,  53,  was  a  famous  garden. 

My  1 8,  3,  66,  58,  23,  14,  57,  13,  40,  37,  28,  55,  is  a  book  of  the 
Bible. 

My  3°»  55>  1S>  38,  39>  29>  was  a  queen  of  Persia. 

My  6,  26,  42,  33,  44,  31,  45,  46,  61,  20,  51,  32,  10,  43,  was  the 
Apocalyptic  appellation  for  the  national  demon  of  Egypt. 

My  47,  4,  60,  48,  41,  is  one  of  the  Christian  virtues. 

My  63,  67,  56,  is  a  name  given  to  the  people  of  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage. 

My  54,  is  the  initial  letter  of  one  name  of  the  Deity. 

My  sixty-seven  letters  give  a  very  beautiful  and  comforting  verse 
from  the  "  sweet  singer  of  Israel." 

Answer:  "Because  thou  hast  been  my  help,  therefore  in  the 
shadow  of  thy  wings  will  I  rejoice. 

CHURCH  BIOGRAPHY  AND  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

Just  as  it  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  be  able  to  tell  their  children  Bible 
stories,  so  they  should  be  prepared  to  tell  them  stories  of  Church  his- 
tory, of  the  heroes,  authors,  martyrs,  missionaries  of  the  Church. 
Parents  should  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  biography  of 
good  persons,  and  present  it  in  an  attractive  form  to  their  young  people. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  661 

Many  parents  would  blush  at  hearing  a  child  of  twelve  or  four- 
teen say:  Who's  Shakespeare?  Who's  Burns?  and  would  not  feel 
surprised  or  pained  if  the  question  should  be,  Who  is  Henry  Mar- 
tyn  ?  Who  is  Bishop  Heber  ?  Who  is  Whitefield  ?  Who  is  Charles 
Wesley?  Who  is  Mr.  Judson  ?  In  fact  the  ignorance  of  very  many 
young  folks  concerning  the  heroes,  and  kings,  and  warriors  of  the 
faith  is  disgraceful  and  unblushed  for.  An  acquaintance  with  the 
lives  of  these  truly  great  people  will  not  only  make  children  and 
youth  more  intelligent,  but  will  have  the  happiest  effect  on  their 
moral  natures  and  tone  of  thought,  and  will  put  them  in  a  line  of 
good  and  suitable  Sabbath  reading. 

SABBATH  READING. 

Nothing  is  more  suitable  as  an  occupation  for  the  Sabbath  than 
reading.  Parents  should  be  very  careful  what  books  come  into  the 
hands  of  their  children  on  Sabbath.  We  would  equally  warn  against 
weak,  silly  Sunday  stories,  novels  by  good  authors,  and  profane  his- 
tory :  there  will  be  time  enough  six  days  in  the  week  for  the  two 
latter,  and  for  the  first  there  is  never  time.  A  really  good  religious 
story,  as,  for  instance,  the  "  Schonberg  Cotta  Family,"  is  in  order 
for  Sunday ;  a  really  good  story,  not  religious,  is  truly  useful  for 
week-day  reading.  There  is  no  lack  of  well-written  and  attractive 
reading  suitable  for  the  Sabbath.  We  cannot  expect  young,  inex- 
perienced minds  to  enjoy,  "  The  Rise  and  Progress  ; "  or,  "  The  Saints' 
Rest ;  "  or,  "  Edwards'  History  of  Redemption  ;  "  or,  "Flavel's  Dis- 
courses." It  is  folly  to  try  and  crowd  these  works  into  youthful 
minds  incapable  of  digesting  them :  the  result  will  be  spiritual  dys- 
pepsia. Paul  knew  better  than  this  when  he  discerned  between 
"milk  for  babes  "  and  "  meat  for  men:"  meaning  also  the  various  ali- 
ments that  lie  between.  Without  expecting  our  young  folks  to  read 
the  books  produced  by  very  mature  experience  for  minds  like  itself, 
we  are  still  not  driven  upon  secular  Sabbath  reading  for  our  young 
people — the  histories  of  the  Lollards,  the  Waldenses,  the  Cove- 
nanters, of  the  Gospel  in  Madeira,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  in 
86 


562  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

Pitcairn's  Island ;  the  life  and  work  of  many  of  our  missionaries,  of 
such  men  as  Headly  Vicars,  and  General  Havelock ;  works  like 
"The  Book  and  Its  Story,"  "The  Tales  of  the  Covenanters,"  and 
"  Various  Stories  on  Church  History,"  and  religious  questions.  Of 
all  books,  next  to  the  Bible,  a  taste  should  be  cultivated  in  the  young 
for  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  This  book  should  be  read,  it  should  be 
talked  about,  its  scriptural  references  should  be  looked  up,  and  good 
illustrated  editions  of  it  should  be  had  to  make  it  attractive. 

XVIII. 

It  often  happens  that  a  very  little  thing,  a  few  words,  a  mere  ques- 
tion, pun,  or  quibble,  will  create  a  smile,  or  a  laugh,  break  up  a 
spirit  of  gloom  or  brooding,  and  make  life  wear  a  different  and  more 
cheery  complexion.  Young  folks,  whose  home  life  is  such  that  they 
expect  these  "  merry  nothings,"  that  prove  so  much  of  "  something," 
who  are  on  the  look-out  for  bits  of  fun  to  waylay  them,  and  who  are 
inspired  to  make  fun  themselves,  and  bring  to  their  homes  the  best 
things  that  they  hear  or  see,  are  altogether  a  heartier,  happier,  health- 
ier, and  more  useful  manner  of  young  people  than  those  for  whom 
nothing  of  this  kind  is  ever  provided.  At  the  table  a  conundrum  or 
two,  or  a  good  joke,  helps  the  meal  to  digest.  Laughter  is  better 
even  than  pepsin  for  digestion,  and  does  not  cost  so  much !  We 
give  a  few  conundrums: 

1.  Why  was  Pharaoh's  daughter  when  she  found  Moses,  like  a 
Wall  street  broker  ? 

2.  What  kind  of  monkeys  grow  on  grape  vines  ? 

3.  Plant  the  Czar  of  Russia  and  what  flower  will  come  up  ? 

4.  Plant  a  book-keeper  named  John  and  what  flower  will  come  up  ? 

5.  Plant  a  mad  bull  on  Broadway  and  what  flower  will  come  up? 

6.  Plant  me  and  what  will  come  up? 

7.  Plant  your  sister's  shoes  and  what  flower  will  come  up  ? 

8.  Plant  the  man  most  famous  for  riches  and  what  will  come  up  ? 

9.  Plant  the  sun  and  what  will  come  up  ? 

10.  Plant  a  negro's  exclamation  of  astonishment  and  what? 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY,  .  f  683 

11.  When  is  butter  like  Irish  children? 

12.  Why  are  dissenters  like  spiders? 

13.  What  is  it  walks  with  its  head  downward? 

14.  What  difference  between  Kossuth  and  a  starved  oyster? 

15.  If  Pan  had  been  pushed  into  the  Bay  of  Salamis  what  would 
he  have  been? 

1 6.  Why  are  babies  like  castles  in  the  air  ? 

17.  Why  are  guns  like  trees  ? 

1 8.  Why  is  a  coquette  like  a  mountain  top? 

19.  Why  is  a  shilling  like  a  nod  ? 

20.  Why  is  a  sixpence  like  a  man  who  dresses  leather? 

21.  Why  is  Troy  weight  like  a  man  without  a  conscience? 

22.  When  is  the  French  nation  like  a  baby? 

23.  Why  is  a  girl  being  courted  like  a  tree  ? 

24.  Why  is  the  receiver  of  too  long  a  call  like  a  door  ? 

25.  Why  is  a  silly  youth  like  a  tree  ? 

26.  Why  is  a  tree  like  a  traveller  ? 

27.  In  what  should  an  unwelcome  guest  imitate  a  tree  ? 

28.  What  does  no  one  wish  to  lack  or  keep  ? 

29.  When  is  a  beard  like  a  young  spring  vegetable  ? 

30.  What  constellation  is  like  a  sign  of  poverty? 

XIX,— Games  of  Mesmerism. 

/.   The  Trance-Reader. 

One  of  a  company  proposes  to  put  another  in  a  trance  state  by  a 
few  passes  on  the  forehead,  and  if  each  of  the  company  will  write 
in  a  clear  hand  any  word  on  a  slip  of  paper,  the  trance-reader,  by 
pressing  them  upon  her  forehead,  will  read  them  correctly. 

The  trance-medium  takes  a  chair,  the  words  are  handed  to  the 
mesmerizer :  the  slips  being  face  down,  so  that  the  mesmerizer  evi- 
dently does  not  see  a  word.  After  a  few  passes  on  the  forehead  of 
the  medium,  a  slip  is  pressed  on  her  forehead,  and  she  rubs  it  slowly 
about,  and  spells  carefully  the  word  letter  by  letter,  or  reads  it 


564  4  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

promptly,  taking  both  methods  during  the  reading.  The  company 
see  plainly  while  she  does  this  that  neither  trance  nor  mesmerizer 
have  looked  at  the  slips.  When  the  trance  has  spelled  the  word,  its 
writer  says,  "Correct;  that  is  mine,"  and  she  lays  the  slip  in  her  lap, 
and  the  mesmerizer  rubs  another  on  her  head  to  be  deciphered  in  the 
same  way :  it  is  very  puzzling. 

2.  The  Tranee-Guesser. 

One  person  leaves  the  room  and  a  member  of  the  party  left  touches 
some  object.  The  absent  player  returns,  is  seated  in  a  chair,  and 
the  mesmerist  rubs  her  head.  Then  different  ones  say,  "  Is  this  it?  " 
"  Is  this  it?"  and  she  says  "No;"  until  the  mesmerist  gets  im- 
patient, and  after  saying  "  Is  this  it  ?  "  of  two  or  three  things,  cries,  "  Is 
that  it?"  and  as  it  is  the  right  thing  the  trance  says  "  Yes,  that  is  it." 

3.  The  Trance- Diviner. 

Seat  a  medium  in  a  chair ;  let  one  of  the  company  tie  her  eyes 
securely.  Then  let  the  mesmerizer  make  a  few  passes,  and  leading 
up  a  member  of  the  party  says,  "Do  you  know  Miss  So-and-so?" 
"  Yes." 

"  Do  you  know  her  collar?  her  watch  ?  her  belt  ?  her  dress?  her 
chain?  and  her  kerchief  ?  her  sleeve?  her  apron  ?  her  shoe  ?"  Nam- 
ing various  articles,  to  which  the  blindfold  trance  always  says,  "  Yes, 
yes." 

Mesmerizer.  "  Perhaps  you  can  tell  me  which  of  her  belongings  I 
touched  when  I  spoke  ?  " 

Trance.  "  You  touched  her  kerchief." 

Whatever  the  trance  says  was  touched  always  proves  to  be  the 
very  and  only  article  so  touched  by  the  mesmerizer.  Any  one  of 
the  company  may  tell  the  mesmerizer  what  to  touch,  and  still  the 
trance  will  guess  right. 

4.  The  Growing  Medium. 

A  lady  appears  before  the  mesmerizer,  wearing  a  bonnet  on  her 
head,  and  draped  in  two  sheets,  one  before  and  one  behind.  She 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  66-5 

wears  a  bonnet  and  a  veil  covering  her  head  and  face.  The  mes- 
merizer  makes  passes  over  her  head  and  shoulders,  and  then 
begins  to  lift  his  hands  to  make  her  grow.  As  he  raises  his  hands 
the  medium  grows,  and  grows,  her  long  draperies  increase  as  her 
figure  gains  in  height.  She  towers  sometimes  to  the  ceiling,  bowing 
gracefully  to  the  company,  and  moving  cheerfully  about.  The  mes- 
merizer  ceases  to  raise  his  hands  when  his  medium  is  as  high  as  the 
room,  or  when  the  fun  has  died  out 

5.  The  Dwarfed  Medium. 

A  young  lady,  wearing  a  large  bonnet  and  a  shawl,  receives  from 
the  mesmerizer  passes  to  diminish  her  size.  The  two  retire  behind 
a  screen,  where  the  company  have  just  seen  a  table  with  a  child's 
low  chair  standing  on  it.  No  one  goes  with  them ;  in  a  few  minutes 
the  mesmerizer  announces  his  work  complete,  and  removing  the 
screen  there^  is  the  medium  dwarfed  to  a  tiny  creature  seated  in  the 
chair  on  the  table,  her  hands  softly  patting  her  lap,  her  little  feet  tap- 
ping the  table,  and  her  head  bent  down,  a  being  about  three  feet  high, 
behind  whom  stands  the  mesmerizer,  saying, "  Don't  be  timid,  my  poor 
"little  dear,  no  one  will  hurt  you,"  and  so  on,  making  it  very  amusing. 

6.  The  Mesmerized  Musicians. 

This  is  very  simple  and  evident,  but  is  amusing.  The  mesmerizer 
makes  passes  on  several  who  stand  before  him  and  they  seem  to 
shut  their  eyes,  but  really  peep  a  little.  He  then  commands  each 
one  to  play  a  certain  instrument,  as  violin,  flute,  piano,  accordion, 
harp,  etc.  He  stands  before  them  beating  time,  and  apparently  or 
really,  singing  any  tune  he  likes,  with  various  contortions  and  grim- 
aces. The  trance  musicians,  sawing  away  on  their  ordained  fancied  in- 
struments, follow  his  motions  without  making  a  sound.  A  very  little 
peeping  will  eaable  them  to  catch  the 'Spirit  of  the  affair,  and  seem  to 
have  their  eyes  quite  shut 

7.    The  Mesmeric  Speller. 

One  of  a  party  is   mesmerized  bypasses,  and  stands  up  to  spell 


566  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

One  of  the  company  whispers  the  mesmerist  the  word  to  be  spelled. 
The  mesmerist  then  rapidly  puts  out  four  or  six  words  to  his  medium, 
one  of  them  being  the  whispered  word.  Whichever  order  he  gives 
these  words  in,  the  medium  always  spells  the  right  one. 

XX. — A  Few  Ordinary  Business  Forms. 

1.  A  Few  General  Business  Laws. 

1.  All  notes  and  contracts  made  on  Sunday  are  null  and  void. 

2.  Contracts  made  with  lunatics  or  idiots  are  null  and  void. 

3.  An  agreement  without  consideration  is  not  binding. 

4.  A  contract  made  with  a  minor  is  void. 

5.  All  notes  obtained  by  fraud,  or  from  drunken  people,  are  void. 

6.  Ignorance  of  the  law  affords  no  excuse  in  law. 

7.  Principals  are  responsible  for  the  acts  of  their  agents. 

8.  Partners  are  severally  responsible  for  the  entire  debts  of  the 

firm. 

9.  Especjal  partnerships  maybe  made  releasing  from  this  respon- 

sibility. 
to.  The  acts  of  one  partner  bind  all  the  firm. 

11.  If  a  note  is  to  bear  interest  it  must  be  so  stated  in  the  note. 

12.  A  bill  may  be  written  on  any  sort  of  paper,  with  pencil  or  ink. 

13.  Signatures  are  good  whether  in  pen  or  pencil  writing. 

14.  When  a  husband  sells  real  estate  his  wife  must  give  hei  signa- 

ture also,  or  the  transaction  is  void. 

15.  If  a  woman  puts  her  private  property  into  her  husband's  hands 

and  he  cares  for  it  and  manages  it  with  his  own,  it  is  con^ 
sidered  his,  and  can  be  seized  for  his  debts. 

16.  Debts  become  outlawed  after  a  certain  date. 

17.  Concealment  of  fraud  indicates  complicity,  and  is  criminal. 

2.  For  Rent. 
$40  Burlington,  Vt,  July  6,  1875. 

Received  of  T.  B.  Sands,  forty  dollars,  for  rent  of  house  on  College 
and  Williard  Sts.,  for  month  ending  July  31,  1875. 

W.  B.  HENDREE. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  567 

3.  To  Make  out  a  Bill 

New  York  City,  Aug.  18,  1870. 
James  Pill  to  Henry  Brown,  Dr. 

To  one  pair  of  boots  at  nine  dollars  .         .    $9.00 

"       "      "        slippers  at  two  dollars        .         .      2.00 
"       "      "        overshoes  .         ....      1.50 

"       "      "        gaiters        .         .         .      '".         .        .75 


Total #13.25. 

This  is  the  form  to  send  in,  with  the'received  payment'written,  but 
not  the  creditor's  name ;  when  the  money  is  paid  the  name  is  signed ; 
as,  Henry  Brown,  and  the  paper  so  signed  is  kept  by  the  payer  of 
the  bill  as  his  receipt. 

4.  For  a  Note. 
$1000  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  June  I,  1864. 

Received  of  W.  J.  Nestor  his  note  at  sixty  days  for  one  thousand 
dollars  in  full  of  account. 

H.  HERBERT  GLENDENNING. 

5.  For  Money  on  a  Contract. 
$500  Syracuse,  May  2,  1880. 

Received  of  Waller  &  Wait  five  hundred  dollars  in  advance,  on 
a  contract  to  build  for  them  a  brick  warehouse  at  No.  1123  Wey- 
bridge  St.  LUTHER  RHEAMS. 

6.  For  Wages. 

$20  Pottsville  Centre,  June  9,  1880. 

Received  of  Mrs.  Lamb  twenty  dollars  in  full  for  wages  up  to  date. 

MARY  K.  WING. 
7.  For  Schooling. 
$15  Wheeler  Court-House,  July  3,  1879. 

Received  of  Mrs.  M.  H.  Lewis  fifteen  dollars  in  full  for  tuition  of 
her  son,  for  term  ending  July  5,  1879. 

SAMUEL  HENDREE. 


668  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

8.  Orders. 

Winfield,  Wis.,  July  I,  1869. 
MR.  MURRAY  HOPE: 

Please  pay  Martin  Webber  ninety  dollars  in  Merchandise,  and 
charge  to  WHEELER  &  MIXON. 

9.  For  Goods  to  be  Delivered. 

Sodus,  N.  Y.,  March  12,  1880. 
TORREY  &  BUCK  : 

Please  deliver  to  Henry  Hulburd  eighty  barrels  of  flour,  six  barrels 
of  sugar,  and  forty-five  hams,  stored  by  me  in  your  warehouse. 

Louis  GRESHAM. 

10..  For  Produce. 

Lewis,  April  I,  1879. 
MESSRS.  PEPPER  &  HATCH  : 

Please  furnish  Wilber  Nelson  produce,  such  as  he  may  desire, 
from  your  store  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  ninety-five  dollars,  and 
charge  the  same  to  my  account.  RUFUS  WILBRAHAM. 

11.  Bill  of  Goods. 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  May  10,  1882. 
Mrs.  J.  K.  Landis  bought  of  Helen  Green  : 

2  pair  of  gloves  @  $2.00 $4-OO 

10  yds.  silk  @  $3.00        .  .         .         .         .         .  30.00 

5      "     lace  @  $1.00 5-°° 

3  "     lawn  @  .50.        .  .         .         .         .         .         .  1.50 

I  dozen  spools  cotton  @  .60 .60 

I       "      buttons    @    .50  ......  .50 

I  veil  @  $3.00          .  ......  3.00 

Total $44.60 

Received  payment,  HELEN  GREEN. 

N.  B. — In  all  notes  and  orders  write  the  amount  of  the  money  in 
full,  as  well  as  place  it  in  figures. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  5-9 

12.  Form  of  Bill. 

Jonesburg,  August  16,  1876. 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Smith  to  Sarah  Williams,  Dr. 

To  making  cloth  coat  @  $5.00          .         .         .  '.  .   .  £5.00 

"  altering  blue  silk  dress        .     :    .         .        .  .  .  .-  7.00 

"  making  cloth  walking-suit         V       ...  ,  .  16.00 

"  trimming  merino  polonaise           .         .•        .  .  '  .  2.00 

"  trimmings  furnished  for  black  silk      .         .  '.''  .  IO.OO 

"  making  the  same          .        .          .         ;      v.  ,°  .  15.00 

Total  .        .        .,         .     .  *      '  >.     .  .         .        555-00 

Received  payment. 

XXI.— Government  Offices. 

In  addition  to  the  various  offices,  clerkships,  and  services  already 
described,  we  may  mention  the  Revenue  Service,  Department  of  the 
Interior,  Light-House  Board,  Treasury  Department,  and  others. 

The  Revenue  Department  has  its  offices  not  only  along  the  seaboard 
of  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Gulf,  but  also  upon  the  Great  Lakes,  Lake 
Champlain,  and  along  the  Canada  boundary,  and  in  our  large  cities. 
Places  in  these  offices  are  usually  obtained  through  Congressional 
influence;  and,  while  in  many  cases  examinations  are  required,  the 
successful  competitors  will  generally  be  found  to  be  those  who  have 
the  most  backing.  For  some  positions  bondsmen  are  required,  as  in 
the  Post-Office  Department. 

1.  For  Patent-Office  Positions. 

The  examinations  for  the  Patent-Office  are  pretty  much  restricted 
to  mathematics,  physics  and  mechanics,  v/ith  an  excursus  now  and 
then  into  the  domain  of  chemistry. 

In  the  Interior  Department  the  competitor  writes  his  answers  to 
the  questions  propounded,  signing  to  each  sheet  any  name  he  may 
choose.  He  then  fastens  these  sheets  together  and  hands  them  to 
the  Examining  Board.  On  another  sheet  he  writes  a  short  biographi- 


570  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

cal  sketch  of  himself,  to  which  he  appends  his  true  name.  This  he 
encloses  in  an  envelope,  seals,  and,  writing  his  pseudonym  across 
the  envelope,  hands  with  the  other  to  the  Examining  Board. 

The  Board  is  supposed  to  grade  each  competitor  before  opening 
the  envelope  containing  his  true  name. 

The  result,  of  course,  depends  in  theory  upon  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  competitors.  The  best  men  are  approved.  In  prac- 
tice, however,  in  the  infancy  of  our  competitive  examinations,  more 
depends  upon  the  fidelity  of  the  Board  of  Examiners. 

The  lack  of  system,  and  the  too  frequent  perversion  of  official 
trusts,  have  combined  to  cast  very  grave  suspicions  upon  many  of 
these  examinations.  Competitors  complain  that  the  favorites  of 
officials  obtain,  in  some  way,  the  places  sought,  without  reference  to 
actual  merit.  In  saying  this,  however,  no  charge  is  preferred  by  the 
writer  against  the  Examining  Boards.  It  is  only  desired  to  warn 
those  who  may  seek  positions  in  the  several  departments  at  Wash- 
ington of  the  actual  as  well  as  the  supposed  difficulties  which  lie  in 
their  way ;  and  no  better  method  of  doing  this  can  be  conceived  than 
by  giving  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  civil  service,  together  with 
the  actual  experiences  and  views  of  those  clerks  who  have  had  th< 
opportunity  of  knowing  of  what  they  speak. 

2.  For  Treasury  Department. 

PHYSICAL  DEMANDS. — In  the  physical  examination  required  by 
paragraph  3  of  the  regulations  governing  the  admission  of  candi- 
dates to  the  grade  of  cadet  in  the  Revenue-Marine  Service  (Revenue- 
Marine  Circular,  No.  23),  any  one  of  the  following  defects  will  be 
sufficient  cause  for  rejection,  viz. : 

1.  Decided  cachexia,  strumous  diathesis,  or  apparent  predisposition 
to  any  constitutional  disease. 

2.  Permanent  defects  of  either  extremities  or  articulations,  causing 
inefficiency. 

3.  Unnatural  excurvature  or  incurvature  of  the  spine. 

4.  Impaired  vision,  color-blindness,  myopia,  chronic  disease  of  the 
visual  organs. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  571 

5.  Epilepsy,  insanity,  apparent  tendency  to  convulsions. 

6.  Chronic  disease  of  the  ears,  deafness,  chronic  nasal  catarrh, 
polypi,  chronic  tonsilar  enlargement. 

7.  Chronic  ulcers,  or  cicatrices  of  old  ulcers  likely  to  break  out 
afresh. 

8.  Chronic  cardiac  affections ;  insufficient  chest  expansion. 

9.  Hernia,  sarcocele,  hydrocele,  varicocele  (unless  slight),  stricture 
of  the  urethra  or  rectum ;  fistula,  hemorrhoids. 

10.  Varicose  veins  of  lower  limbs,  unless  slight. 

11.  Stature  less  than  five  feet. 

12.  Besides  the  above,  the  existence  of  any  disease,  physical  de- 
formity, or  abnormal  condition  of  such  character  as  to  incapacitate 
the  candidate  for  the  performance  of  his  duties,  will  be  cause  for 
rejection. 

REGULATIONS  FOR  ADMISSION. —  i.  No  person  will  be  appointed  in 
the  Revenue-Marine  Service  who  does  not  furnish  satisfactory  evi- 
dence that  he  is  of  good  moral  character  and  of  sober  and  correct 
habits. 

2.  Candidates   must  be  not   less  than   eighteen  nor  more   than 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  no  person  will  be  appointed  whose  age 
is  not  within  these  limits. 

3.  Candidates  will  be  required  to  pass  a  satisfactory  examination 
as  to  their  physical  qualifications  by  a  board  of  medical  officers  to 
be  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.     They  must  be  of 
vigorous  constitution,  physically  sound  and  well  formed,  and  not  less 
than  five  feet  in  stature. 

4.  The  candidates  must  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in  reading, 
writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  algebra,  geography,  history,  and  gram- 
mar, before  a  board  of  officers  to  be  designated  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.     The  examinations  will  be  in  writing. 

5.  A  standard  of  proficiency  will  be  fixed,  and   if  candidates  fall 
below  such  standard   they  will  be  rejected;   they  may,  however, 
receive  a  second  examination  at  the  next  annual  convening  of  the 
Board  of  Examiners.     A  failure  on  the  second   examination  will 


572  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

result  in  the  final  rejection  of  the  candidate.  While  applicants,  as  a 
rule,  will  be  accorded  not  more  than  two  examinations,  exception 
may  be  made  granting  a  third  examination  in  particularly  meritorious 
cases,  where  candidates  have  passed  successfully  two  examinations. 

6.  Candidates  who  pass  the  required  standard  in  both  the  physical 
and  mental  examinations  will  be  eligible  for  appointment,  and  will 
be  placed    upon  a  list  in  the  order  of  the  proficiency  exhibited  by 
them  in  their  examinations,  respectively ;  and  from  this  list  names 
will  be  taken  in  regular  order  for  appointment  to  fill  existing  vacan- 
cies, and  such  as  may  occur  before  the  class  for  the  year  is  made  up. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  passing  of  the  required  stan- 
dard does  not  guarantee  a  candidate's  appointment,  as  the  list  is  not 
likely  to  be  exhausted  in  making  up  the  class. 

7.  Upon  receiving  his  appointment  the  cadet  will  be  required  to 
take  the  prescribed  oath  of  office. 

8.  Cadets  will  be  required  to  provide  themselves  with  the  proper 
uniform,  and  to  wear  the  same  on  board  the  vessel  to  which  they 
may  be  assigned,  and  upon  all  occasions  of  duty. 

9.  Cadets  will  be  appointed  for  a  probationary  period  of  two  years, 
during  which  they  will  be  required  to  pursue  the  prescribed  course 
of  study,  and  perform  such  duties  on  board  ship  or  elsewhere  in  the 
Service  as  may  be  demanded  of  them.     At  the  end  of  two  years  they 
will,  if  their  probationary  service  has  been  satisfactory,  be  examined 
for  promotion   to  the   grade  of  third  lieutenant   in  the    Revenue- 
Marine. 

10.  The  specific  requirements  of  the  examinations  herein  prescribed 
will  be  determined  and  published  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

SCOPE  OF  EXAMINATION. — Arithmetic — Notation  and  Numeration. — 
Candidates  will  be  required  to  explain  the  Roman  and  Arabic 
systems  of  notation,  and  to  write  in  words  and  express  in  figures  any 
given  number. 

Compound  Numbers. — Addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  and 
division  of  compound  numbers,  embracing  denominations  of  money, 
weights,  and  measures  in  common  use ;  the  number  of  cubic  inches 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  573 

in  a  gallon;  reduction  of  differences  in  longitude  to  their  equivalents 
in  time,  and  vice  versa. 

Properties  of  Numbers— including  resolution  into  prime  factors, 
finding  greatest  common  divisor  and  least  common  multiple,  the 
divisibility  of  numbers,  etc. 

Fractions. — Common  and  decimal  fractions,  with  methods  of  con- 
tracted multiplications  and  divisions  of  the  latter,  and  reasons  for 
inverting  divisor,  cancellation  of  common  factors,  etc.,  in  processes 
involving  the  former. 

Ratio  and  Proportion,  and  Percentage,  Interest,  and  Discount — 
including  explanation  of  the  nature  of  each,  and  the  solution  of 
examples. 

Mensuration  and  Evolution — including  measurement  of  surface? 
and  volumes,  and  extraction  of  square  and  cube  roots. 

Practical  Questions. — Under  this  head  problems  involving  pro 
cesses  under  the  various  subjects  treated  of  in  arithmetic  will  be 
given  for  solution  as  a  test  of  the  power  of  analysis  of  candidates, 
A  thorough  knowledge  of  arithmetic  will  be  insisted  upon  in  all 
cases. 

Algebra — to  equations  of  the  second  degree. 

Grammar. — The  examination  in  this  branch  will  embrace  the  whole 
of  English  grammar,  with  every  subject  of  which  candidates  must  be 
familiar;  nouns,  their  classification,  person,  number,  gender,  case, 
and,  under  these,  the  rules  for  the  formation  of  the  plurals  of  proper 
names  and  of  irregular  nouns,  the  different  uses  of  the  three  cases, 
etc.;  articles,  and  their  uses;  adjectives,  and  the  rules  for  their  com' 
parison,  etc.;  numerals,  and  their  classification;  classification  of  pro- 
nouns ;  the  double  uses  of  relatives,  and  the  distinctions  in  their 
application ;  compound  relative  pronouns,  interrogatives,  adjective 
pronouns  and  their  classification  ;  verbs,  their  classification  and  con- 
jugation; the  distinction  between  transitive  and  intransitive,  regular 
and  irregular  verbs,  and  their  principal  parts ;  auxiliary  verbs  and 
their  uses ;  impersonal  verbs ;  voice,  mood,  tense,  person,  and  num- 
ber ;  participles,  and  their  uses ;  adverbs,  with  rules  for  use,  and  their 


574  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

classification;  conjunctive  adverbs,  etc.  \  prepositions,  interjections,  and 
conjunctions;  rules  of  construction;  correction  of  false  syntax. 

Parsing,  of  which  the  following  is  a  sample  :  Noun. — Class,  gender, 
person,  number  and  case,  and  its  relations.  Article. — Definite  or 
indefinite,  and  what  it  qualifies.  Adjective. — Class,  comparison,  noun 
which  it  qualifies.  Pronouns. — Whether  personal,  relative,  interroga- 
tive, or  adjective ;  gender,  person,  number,  and  case ;  if  relative,  its 
antecedent ;  if  adjective,  the  noun  it  qualifies.  Verb. — Class,  form, 
principal  parts,  mood,  tense,  person,  number,  subject.  Adverb. — 
Class,  comparison,  relation.  Preposition. — Words  related  by  it. 
Interjection.  —  Kind  of  emotion  expressed.  Conjunction.  —  Class, 
words,  or  sentences  connected. 

History. — Candidates  will  be  examined  in  so  much  of  the  history 
of  the  United  States  as  is  contained  in  the  ordinary  school  histories. 

Reading. — Exercise  in  reading  aloud  will  be  required. 

Writing. — Candidates  will  be  required  to  write  a  theme  of  not  less 
than  two  pages,  as  a  test  of  penmanship  and  composition. 

Spelling. — A  written  exercise  in  spelling,  of  not  less  than  thirty 
words,  will  be  required,  and  failure  to  pass  the  minimum  standard  in 
spelling  will  be  sufficient  cause  of  itself  for  rejection  of  the  candidate. 

Geography. — The  examination  will  embrace  questions  on  the  grand 
divisions  of  land  and  water ;  the  direction  and  position  of  mountain 
chains  and  locality  of  principal  peaks ;  location  and  course  of  rivers 
and  their  tributaries ;  position  of  seas,  gulfs,  bays,  and  lakes ;  posi- 
tion and  boundaries  of  political  divisions  of  land,  and  location  of  their 
capital  cities ;  position  and  direction  of  peninsulas,  and  situation  of 
capes,  straits,  sounds,  channels,  and  canals;  position  and  political 
connection  of  important  islands ;  locality  of  cities  of  historical, 
political,  or  commercial  importance  ;  character  and  general  directions 

of  coast  lines. 

3.  The  Department  of  the  Interior. 

APPLICATIONS. — Every  application  must  be  made  in  writing  to  the 
head  of  the  Department.  It  must  state:  I.  Name  in  full;  2.  Place 
of  birth ;  3.  Legal  residence,  and  how  long  it  has  been  such ;  4. 


S  VREA  U  MISCELLA  NY.  57.5 

Education;  5.  Occupation,  past  and  present;  6.  Any  information 
about  a  past  employment  in  civil  service ;  7.  Whether  ever  in  the 
army,  and  particulars. 

SIGNATURES. — Every  application  must  be  signed  by  two  trustworthy 
persons,  and  the  moral  character  of  applicant  must  be  attested. 

NOTIFICATIONS. — At  least  ten  days  prior  to  each  examination,  a 
notification  to  appear  will  be  mailed  to  the  eligible  candidates,  unless 
it  should  be  found  impracticable  to  examine  all  of  them,  in  which 
case  a  practicable  number  will  be  selected  and  notified  to  appear  for 
examination.  Those  not  selected  for  examination  will  remain  on  the 
eligible  list. 

EXAMINATIONS. — I.  All  candidates  for  appointment  to  clerkships  of 
class  one,  who  shall  appear  in  accordance  with  such  notification, 
will  be  subjected  to  a  public  competitive  written  examination  upon 
the  following  subjects : 

(i)  Penmanship;  (2)  writing  and  briefing  letters;  (3)  elements  of 
English  grammar,  chiefly  orthography  and  syntax ;  (4)  arithmetic : 
fundamental  rules,  fractions,  percentage,  interest,  and  discount;  (5) 
elements  of  accounts  and  bookkeeping ;  (6)  history  and  geography  : 
general  questions,  principally  such  as  relate  to  the  United  States ; 
and  (7)  prominent  features  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Candidates  for  appointment  to  grades  below  clerkships  of  class 
one,  will  be  examined  in  like  manner  upon  the  following  subjects : 
(i)  Penmanship;  (2)  copying;  (3)  elements  of  English  grammar, 
chiefly  orthography  and  syntax;  and  (4)  fundamental  rules  of 
arithmetic. 

Proficiency  in  penmanship,  orthography,  and  punctuation  will  be 
determined  principally  by  a  review  of  the  examination  papers,  and, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  examination  in  all  the  branches  will  be  con- 
fined to  practical  exercises. 

In  examinations  for  appointment  to  positions  requiring  special 
or  technical  knowledge,  such  additions  may  be  made  by  the 
board  of  examiners  to  the  list  of  subjects  as  the  nature  of  the  case 
may  require. 


57,6  PRACTICAL   LIFE. 

II.  The  various  subjects  of  the  examination  may  be  subdivided, 
if  thought   desirable,  into  classes,  and  to  each  subject  or  class  a 
relative  weight,  according   to   its    importance  in  the    examination, 
will  be  assigned  by  each  board  of  examiners. 

The  mode  of  ascertaining  the  result  of  the  examination  will  be  as 
follows :  The  degree  of  accuracy  with  which  each  question  shall  be 
answered  will  first  be  marked  by  the  board  on  a  scale  of  100.  The 
average  of  the  marks  given  to  the  answers  to  the  questions  in 
each  subject  or  class  will  next  be  ascertained.  Each  average  will 
then  be  multiplied  by  the  number  indicating  the  relative  weight  of 
the  subject  or  class,  and  the  sum  of  the  products  will  be  divided 
by  the  sum  of  the  relative  weights ;  the  quotient  will  determine  the 
candidate's  standing  in  the  examination.  Relative  weight  will  be 
assigned,  not  merely  to  the  special  qualifications  of  the  candidates, 
but  to  their  general  aptitude,  as  shown  in  the  course  of  the  examina- 
tion. Candidates  will  be  examined  during  office-hours,  and  in  no 
case  will  their  examination  be  continued  more  than  one  day. 

III.  When  an  applicant  desires  to  be  examined  in  some  specialty, 
proficiency  in  which  may  be  of  advantage  to  the  service  of  the  depart- 
ment, he  may  apply  for  such  examination  to  the  board  of  examiners, 
and  such  examination  shall  then  be  had  and  the  result  thereof  cer- 
tified to  the  head  of  the  department,  who  shall  determine  in  his  dis- 
cretion what  relative  weight  shall  be  attached  to  the  same  in  the 
general  computation  of  the  result. 

IV.  The  board  of  examiners  will  prepare  a  list  of  the  persons  ex- 
amined in  the  order  of  their  excellence,  as  proved  by  such  examina- 
tion, beginning  with  the  highest,  and  will  then  certify  the  same  to  the 
head  of  the  department. 

V.  The  examination    papers  of  any  candidate  who  shall    have 
passed  a  minimum  standard  of  sixty  per  centum,  but  who  shall  fail 
to  be  appointed,  will,   if   requested    by  the   candidate,  be   brought 
into    competition  with  those  of  candidates  who  shall    compete  for 
vacancies,  of  the  same  class  and  nature  at  other  examinations  oc- 
curring within   one   year:    Provided,  however,  That   the   candidate 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  577 

shall  not  have  been  specially  objected  to  by  the  head  of  the  de- 
partment. 

VI.  Appointments  shall,  in  the  first  instance,  be  made  for  six 
months  only,  which  period  shall  serve  as  a  term  of  probation.  At 
the  end  of  that  period  the  head  of  the  bureau,  in  which  the  appli- 
cant has  been  employed,  shall  certify  to  the  practical  efficiency  of  the 
latter,  and  if  the  report  be  satisfactory,  an  appointment  on  the  per- 
manent roll  shall  then  be  made. 

PROMOTIONS. — Promotions  in  the  Interior  Department  for  the  filling 
of  vacancies  in  the  several  bureaus,  above  the  grade  of  class  one,  will, 
except  in  cases  of  conspicuous  merit  in  the  performance  of  special 
duty,  be  governed  by  the  following  rules : 

I.  Whenever  a  vacancy  occurs  in  any  grade  above  class  one,  at 
least  five  days'  notice  shall  be  given  to  the  clerks  of  the  bureau,  that 
a  competitive  examination  will  take  place  on  a  certain  day  for  the 
filling  of  the  same. 

II.  Competition  will  be  confined  to  the  clerks  of  the  two  grades 
next  below  the  one  in  which  the  vacancy  exists. 

III.  Clerks  desiring  to  compete  must  make  application  in  writing, 
to  the  head  of  their  bureau,  at  least  two  days  prior  to  the  day  of  ex- 
amination. 

IV.  The  character  of  the  examination  will  be  such  as  not  only  to 
determine  the  clerical  qualifications  of  the  candidate  for  the  higher 
grade,  but  especially  to  test  his  or  her  knowledge  of  the  duties  per- 
taining to  the  division  in  which  the  vacancy  exists. 

Examination  Questions  for  Department  of  the  Interior. 

ADMISSION. 

Examination  to  fill  vacancies  in  clerkships  of  class  one. 

Write  a  letter  addressed  to  the  head  of  the  bureau  in  which  you  desire  an  appointment, 
covering  at  least  two  pages  of  paper,  giving  place  of  your  birth,  a  history  of  your  educa- 
tion, your  occupation  t»  the  present  time,  your  legal  residence,  and  the  reasons  why  you 
seek  an  appointment. 

SENTENCES   TO   BE  CORRECTED. 

Between  you  and  I  there  is  no  truth  in  the  report. 
William  has  broke  the  chair. 
37 


578  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

I  learned  him  how  to  do  it. 

My  Christian  and  surname  begin  and  end  with  the  same  letters. 

The  man  is  neither  great  or  good. 

There's  the  book  you  wanted. 

I  am  not  so  good  a  scholar  as  him. 

They  have  done  much  more  than  us. 

He  has  ran  from  the  house  into  the  garden. 

Every  one  of  those  boys  are  idle. 

Neither  William  nor  John  were  present. 

You  was  there  at  the  time. 

Seven  and  five  is  twelve  and  four  is  sixteen. 

Who  is  there  ?     Me. 

Was  that  you  or  him  ? 

ARITHMETIC. 

1.  Place  the  following  numbers  in  a  column  of  figures  and  add  them  up: 

Two  thousand  and  two  thousandths. 

Two  hundred-thousandths. 

Nine  millionths. 

Seven  million  and  seventy-nine. 

Four  hundred  thousand  seven  hundred  arid  ninety-seven. 

One  hundred  and  sixty-seven  million  eight  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand 

two  hundred  and  forty-nine. 
Nine  hundred  and  eighty-seven  million  six  hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand  three 

hundred  and  ninety-one. 
Ten  hundred-thousandths. 
One  hundred  and  eighty-nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven. 

2.  Multiply  874.0691  by  79.0473. 

3.  Divide  1979  by  11.225,  and 
Divide  127.555  by  63. 

4.  What  is  a  pile  of  wood  15  feet  long,  ioj£  feet  high,  and  12  feet  wide  worth  at  $4% 
per  cord  ? 

5.  Find  the  interest  on  $419.10  for  I  year  8  months  and  15  days  at  6  per  cent.,  and  also 
at  8  per  cent,  per  annum. 

6.  Find  a  common  divisor  of  72  and  90. 

7.  2)4  cents  is  what  per  cent,  of  10  cents? 

8.  10  cents  is  what  per  cent,  of  2^  cents? 

9.  If  seven  men  can  mow  a  field  in  19  days,  in  how  many  days  will  20  men  mow  it? 

10.  What  is  the  gold  value  of  a  currency  dollar  when  gold  is  13  per  cent,  premium? 

11.  Reduce  7^  to  a  decimal. 

12.  Add  |*  to  Jf . 

13.  Subtract  J  from  .97. 

,14.  Divide  #  of  ^  by  #  of  ft. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  579 

GOVERNMENT. 

1.  When  was  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  adopted,  and  how? 

2.  How  is  each  State  represented  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  and 
how  in  the  Senate?  and  give  a  reason  for  the  difference. 

3.  Name  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  our  Government ;  in  which  branch  is  the  patron- 
age of  the  Government  principally  vested  ? 

4.  Which  of  these  branches  embraces  what  are  called  the  Departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment? 

5.  Why  is  the  appointment  and  removal  of  the  heads  of  Departments  and  Bureaus 
vested  in  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

1.  What  js  the  difference  between  geography  and  geology? 

2.  Define  latitude,  longitude,  zones,  tropics,  and  isothermal  lines. 

3.  Give  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  Washington  City,  New  York  City,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

4.  What  is  the  width  of  the  temperate  zone,  and  what  zone  embraces  the  greatest  and 
most  enlightened  population  ? 

5.  What  State  has  the  greatest  area  in  square  miles?     What  State  has  the  smallest  ? 
What  State  has  the  largest  population  ?     What  State  has  the  smallest  ?     What  is  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  United  States  ? 

HISTORY. 

1.  Define  the  several  kinds  of  government.     Which  kind  is  ours? 

2.  Name  the  thirteen  original  States. 

3.  How  many  States  and  Territories  in  the  United  States  ? 

4.  What  rights  and  privileges  do  citizens  of  States  have  over  citizens  of  Territories  ? 

5.  Why  is  general  education  and  moral  rectitude  more  indispensable  in  a  repablic  than 
in  an  absolute  monarchy  ? 

6.  What  is  the  process  of  amending  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ? 

7.  What  is  the  mode  of  electing  a  President  of  the  United  States  ? 

Questions  for  Examination  for  Patent-Office. 

Examination  for  third  assistant  examiner,  June  12,  1873. 

[Number  the  answers  consecutively;  write  on  one  side  only  of  the  sheet;  sign  yonr 
name  to  each  page ;  pin  the  sheets  of  questions  and  answers  together  and  hand  to  the 
secretary  as  soon  as  completed.] 

1.  What  is  a  patent? 

2.  Who  may  obtain  a  patent  in  this  country  ? 

3.  For  what  purpose  are  patents  granted,  and  what  have  been  the  effects  of  the  system 
in  this  country  ? 


580  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

4.  When  were  railroads  first  introduced  into  the  United  States,  and  what  has  been 
their  effect  upon  the  industries  and  general  development  ? 

5.  What  was  the  original  and  what  the  acquired  territory  of  the  United  States,  and 
how  and  when  acquired  ? 

6.  Name  and  bound  the  dependencies  of  Great  Britain. 

7.  What  are  the  powers  of  the  States,  and  what  of  the  General  Government  ? 

8.  What  wars   have  been  fought  by  the  United   States,  and  what  were  the  general 
causes  of  those  wars  ? 

9.  Name  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  Government,  and  define  their  respective 
powers  and  duties. 

10.  What  were  the  great  powers  of  Europe  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  of  Eng- 
land, and  what  important  wars  were  carried  on  ? 

11.  What  are  the  different  races  of  men,  and  what  the  various  forms  of  government  ? 

12.  Describe  a  galvanic  battery. 

13.  What  are  the  distinctive  qualities  of  metals?     What  metals  can  you  name? 

14.  What  is  fire? 

15.  What  are  the  principal  forces  used  by  man  to  produce  mechanical  results? 

1 6.  What  are  the  mechanical  uses  of  water  in  its  various  forms,  and  upon  what  qual- 
ities do  its  various  uses  depend  ? 

17.  What  is  air,  and  what  are  its  uses  ? 

1 8.  Suppose  a  tree  100  feet  in  height  to  be  broken  off  by  the  wind,  and  that  the  lop 
of  the  tree  strikes  the  ground  40  feet  from  its  base,  while  the   other  end  of  the   part 
broken   off  rests  on  the  top  of  the  stump.     Required,  the  length  of  the  part   broken 
off. 

19.  A  log  of  wood  is  15  inches  broad  and  n  thick;  what  length  of  it  will  make  10 
cubic  feet  ? 

20.  A  garden  500  feet  long  and  400  broad  is  surrounded  by  a  terrace-walk,  the  surface 
of  which  is  one-eighth  of  that  of  the  garden ;  what  was  the  breadth  of  the  walk? 

Examination  for  second  assistant  examiner,  June  n,  1873. 

1.  Under  what  circumstances  will  a  patent  be  refused  to  an  applicant  ? 

2.  Can  a  patent  ever  be  granted  to  an  applicant  for  a  device  known  or  used  previous 
to  his  invention  ? 

3.  What  is  required  of  an  applicant  who  seeks  to  introduce  a  claim  not  substantially 
embraced  in  the  original  affidavit  ? 

4.  What  are  the  rules  relating  to  specifications  ? 

5.  Wrhat  errors  in  the  specification  may  be  corrected  by  the  examiner,  and  what  by 
the  applicant,  and  when  should  such  errors  be  corrected  ? 

6.  What  questions  may  be  appealed  in  the  Office,  to  what  tribunals,  and  with  what 
conditions? 

7.  In  what  cases  will  an  interference  be  declared,  and  what  questions  should  the  ex- 
aminer first  settle  ? 


BUREAU  WSCELLANY.  581 

8.  What  are  the  rules  relating  to  re-issues  ? 

9.  What  is  the  practice  of  the  Office  in  relation  to  the  utility  of  an  invention? 

10.  Is  it  a  valid  objection  to  an  application  for  a  patent  that  it  is  for  an  obvious  change 
from  an  old  device,  requiring  only  ordinary  skill  ? 

11.  What  is  the  difference  in  construction  between  the  microscope  and  the  telescope? 

12.  Explain  the  commonly  received  theory  of  light. 

13.  What  are  the  essential  differences  between  the  manufactures  of  pottery  and  glass? 

14.  What  are  the  essential  parts  of  a  loom  ? 

15.  What  are  the  mechanical  uses  of  the  air-blast  ? 

16.  Describe  a  double-acting  force-pump. 

17.  Describe  a  galvanic  battery. 

18.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  the  terms  physical  science,  chemistry,  geology,  miner- 
alogy, zoology,  and  botany.     Explain  their  respective  limits. 

19.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  mixture  and  a  chemical  compound? 

20.  State  the  distinction  between  organic  and  inorganic  bodies. 

Questions  for  Admission  to  Post-Office  Department. 

EXAMINATION  G— ADMISSION. 
To  fill  vacancies  in  clerkships  of  class  one. 

PRELIMINARY. 

1.  What  is  your  full  name  ? 

2.  Where  and  when  were  you  born  ? 

3.  Of  what  State  or  Territory  are  you  a  citizen? 

4.  What  was  the  nature  of  your  education  ? 

5.  In  what  profession  or  business  have  you  been  engaged? 

GRAMMAR. 

I.  Write  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Postmaster-General,  consisting  of  not  more  than  two 
Vages  nor  less  than  one  full  page,  upon  any  subject  you  may  consider  suitable  to  exhibit 
•your  skill  in  plain  English  composition.  Sign  the  letter,  fold  it,  and  indorse  upon  the 
back  a  summary  of  its  contents. 

NOTE. — From  this  letter,  principally,  the  board  of  examiners  will  judge  of  your  pro- 
ficiency in  orthography  and  punctuation  ;  but  errors  in  those  branches  found  anywhere  in 
the  examination  papers  will  be  taken  account  of,  and  for  each  error  in  orthography  five 
units  will  be  deducted  from  the  final  result  of  the  examination.  Errors  in  punctuation 
will  detract  from  the  value  to  be  assigned  to  the  answers  in  which  they  may  be  found  in 
proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  errors. 


I .  Is  the  following  correct  ?   If  not,  wherein  does  its  incorrectness  consist  ?   "  I  hoped 
to  have  seen  you." 


582  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

2.  What  number  must  the  verb  be  in  when  two  or  more  singular  subjects  are  taken 
together  ? 

3.  Write  an  incorrect  sentence,  point  out  the  error,  and  explain  why  it  is  such. 

Correct  the  sentences  following  that  are  incorrect : 

4.  Both  were  unfortunate,  but  neither  are  to  blame. 

5.  Who  do  you  charge  with  the  crime  ? 

6.  Who  was  you  speaking  to  when  I  came  in  ? 

7.  He  learns  me  grammar,  but  neither  of  us  speak  English  correct. 

8.  Wisdom  and  folly  govern  us. 

9.  There  comes  three  persons,  either  of  which  accomplish  with  ease  what  you  propose. 
10.  I,  they,  and  you,  having  completed  your  studies,  it  becomes  us  to  be  as  they  are, 

respected  by  all  for  their  virtues. 

ARITHMETIC. 

1.  Write  in  figures  the  following  numbers: 

One  million  one  hundred  and  eleven  thousand  and  two,  and  decimal  one  thousand 
one  hundred  and  one  millionths. 

2.  Write  in  words  the  following  figures  : 
263,478,978.0003469. 

3.  Add  the  following  figures,  and  in  your  answer  give  only  the  amount : 

26,342,981  82 
87,063,562  04 
63>572.386  50 
49,682,463  05 

76,435.879  45 
89,572,641  06 
47,326,121  80 
74,623,112  45 
67,472,809  63 

643,752  05 

847,962  45 

206,473  65 

784,962  37 

536,487  94 

683,548  75 

468,684  57 

372,890  45 

683,572  46 

PRACTICAL  QUESTIONS. 

1.  How  is  a  stamp  cut  from  a  stamped  envelope  to  be  regarded  in  payment  of  postage? 

2.  What  restriction  does  the  law  impose  upon  the  printing  of  stamped  envelopes  ? 

3.  When  are  parties  desiring  special  request  envelopes  required  to  pay  for  them,  and 
what  is  the  object  of  the  requirement  ? 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  5815 

4.  What  postmasters  are  required  to  make  monthly  reports  to  the  Third  Assistant  Post- 
master-General of  postage-stamps  received,  sold,  and  remaining  on  hand  ? 

5.  What  are  official  postage-stamps  and  stamped  envelopes,  and  for  what  purpose  are 
they  provided  ? 

6.  What  offices  are  supplied  with  official  postage-stamps,  and  what  offices  with  official 
stamped  envelopes? 

7.  At  what  rates  are  official  stamped  envelopes  charged  to  postmasters  ? 

8.  To  whom,  in  what  manner,  and  how  often  are  postmasters  required  to  account  for 
official  postage-stamps  and  stamped  envelopes  ? 

9.  What  provision  is  made  for  supplying  postmasters  with  postal  cards  and  »iewspaper- 
wrappers  for  official  business  ? 

10.  What  are  post-office  envelopes,  and  for  what  purpose  are  they  provided  ? 

11.  Name  the  several  different  sizes  of  post-office  envelopes  furnished. 

12.  State,  as  far  as  you  are  acquainted  with  the  subject,  what  printing  is  done  on  post 
office  envelopes. 

Questions  for  Examination  for  War  Department. 

ADMISSION. 

To  Jill  vacancies  in  clerkships  of  class  one. 

1.  Write  a  letter  of  about  one  page  in  length,  addressed  to  the  Board  of  Examiners, 
stating  the  character  of  your  past  and  present  occupations. 

2.  Make  a  fair  copy  of  the  following  rough  draught  of  a  letter: 
[It  is  not  practicable  to  reproduce  the  rough  draught  here.] 

3.  Correct  any  errors  that  may  exist  in  the  following  sentences: 

Explain  the  difference  between  the  old  and  new  plan. 
I  intended  to  have  answered  when  you  called.        . 
The  dead  and  wounded  were  left  on  the  field. 
Every  one  must  judge  of  their  own  situations. 
He  would  not  act  thus  if  he  were  with  them. 

4.  Correct  the  orthography  of  any  of  the  following  words  that  may  be  spelled  incor- 
rectly : 

Iregularity,  naration,  consientious,  seperate,  catagory,  buisness,  vigorous,  necesary,  ime- 
diately,  briefly,  equivilent,  debbet,  prommisory,  judgement,  goverment,  comutasion,  mede- 
cins,  allopathey,  tryumphent,  aforsaid,  honerable,  suplyes,  memmorandum,  eligible, 
comisary. 

5.  Write  out,  in   full,  the  following,  correcting  all  abbreviations,  and  placing  capitals 
and  punctuation  where  they  properly  belong : 

office  of  the  depot  qr  mr  ft  leavenworth  Kansas  april  I  1873  sealed  proposals  will  be 
reed  at  this  office  until  II  o'clock  a  m  Saturday  may  3  1873  for  building  supts  lodges  of  brick 
or  stone  at  the  ft  leavenworth  and  ft  scott  Kansas  natl  cemeteries  for  further  informn  & 


584  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

plans  &  specifications  apply  to  this  office  proposals  to  be  endorsed  proposals  for  supts  lodges 
&  addressed  to  the  undersigned  jno  g  chandler  maj  &  qr  mr  U  S  A. 

6.  How  many  dollars  make  an  eagle  ? 
How  many  shillings  one  pound  ? 
How  many  feet  one  rod? 

How  many  quarts  one  bushel  ? 
How  many  feet  one  cord  ? 

7.  Express,  in  words,  the  following  amounts:  2009001 ;  6.00107;  9807300.026;   - — — 

72511 

8.  Subtract  754.75478  from  9026.8399. 

9.  Divide  12.82561  by  1.505. 

10.  What  is  the  product  of  £  of  |  of  3  of  15^  ? 
State  the  result  in  vulgar  and  decimal  fractions. 

11.  What  is  the  interest  on  $378.42  for  i  year  5  months  and  3  ckiys,  at  7  per  cent.  ? 

12.  A  man  purchased  a  house   for  $10,000  on  the  following  terms:  $5,000  in  cash ; 
$2,500  in  3  months,  and  the  balance  in  6  months.    What  was  the  cash  value  of  the  property, 
interest  being  calculated  at  6  per  cent.  ? 

13.  What  is  a  pile  of  wood,  8  feet  long,  7  feet  wide,  and  5  feet  high,  worth,  at  $4.50 
per  cord  ? 

14.  When  bank-stock  sells  at  a  discount  of  7j£  per  cent.,  what  amount  of  stock  at  par 
value  will  $3,700  purchase? 

15.  An  army  fought  two  battles.     In  the  first  it  lost  15  per  cent.,  and  in  the  second  20 
per  cent,  of  the  original   number,  after  which  it  mustered    19,500  men.     What  was  the 
original  strength,  and  how  many  men  were  lost  in  each  engagement? 

1 6.  What  is  the  cost  of  each  of  the  following  items  of  a  soldier's  ration  ? 

12  oz.  of  pork,  at  $17.87^  per  bbl.  (200  Ibs.) 

I  Ib.  6  oz.  of  flour,  at  $6.62^  per  bbl.  (196  Ibs.) 

2.4  oz.  of  beans,  at  $2.20  per  bushel  (60  Ibs.) 

1.6  oz.  of  rice,  at  $6.75  per  100  pounds. 

4.8  oz.  of  potatoes,  at  95  cents  per  bushel  (60  Ibs.) 

1.6  oz.  of  coffee,  at  22|£  cents  per  pound. 

1.4  oz.  of  sugar,  at  6^j  cents  per  pound. 

17.  Name  four  battles  occurring  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in    1812,  and  four  in 
the  war  with  Mexico. 

1 8.  Na,me  the  first  three  or  four  States  admitted  into  the  Union  of  the  thirteen  colonies 
after  the  Revolution. 

19.  What  were  the  principal  events  occurring  during  President  Jackson's  term  of  office  ? 

20.  Bound  the  State  of  which  you  are  a  resident;  give  its  capital,  and  two  of  its  prin- 
cipal cities. 

21.  Describe  the  Missouri  river,  giving  its  rise,  course  of  flowing,  through  what  States 
it  passes,  and  where  it  empties. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  585 

22.  Where  are  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  Lake  Tulare,  and  Puget  Sound  ? 

23.  What  are  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  what  is  a  capitation  tax  ? 

24.  Name  six  of  the  powers  granted  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution. 

25.  What  provisions  exist  in  the  Constitution  regarding  the  adjournment  of  Congress? 

XXII.— Curious  Manufactures. 

7.  The  Crab  Lady. 

Take  a  crab's  claw,  red,  such  as  are  found  by  hundreds  on  the  sea- 
shore. Let  the  claw  be  not  over  two  inches  long.  Take  a  piece  of 
thin  card-board  and  sew  it  into  a  narrow  funnel  for  a  woman's  skirt, 
and  make  a  very  small  funnel  inverted  for  her  waist.  Sew  the  fun- 
nels together,  and  make  a  head  and  neck  of  white  cotton  upon  which 
you  fasten  the  crab's  claw  for  nose  and  a  mouth  full  of  teeth,  and 
into  the  cotton  on  each  side  the  red  claws  stick  tacks,  the  heads  being 
the  woman's  two  eyes.  The  cotton  pulled  fluffy  at  the  top  is  her  white 
hair.  Now  put  on  her  a  skirt  of  black  cambric  or  cashmere  scant, 
a  waist  of  the  same,  sewn  over  the  two  funnels ;  make  her  a  pair  of 
arms,  and  put  a  cane  in  one  hand,  a  kerchief  in  the  other.  Put  on 
the  woman  an  apron  of  blue  check,  pin  over  her  shoulders  a  three- 
cornered  kerchief,  and  make  for  her  head  an  old-fashioned  scoop  bon- 
net of  black  cambric  or  crinoline,  and  let  it  project  well  over  her 
countenance.  The  result  is  a  keen,  comical  old  virago,  that  will 
stand  alone  and  look  daggers,  wherever  you  place  her. 

2.  Peanut  Owls. 

Take  peanuts  with  single  kernels,  get  them  from  one-half  an  inch 
to  an  inch  long.  Now  if  you  look  at  the  stem  end  of  these,  you  will 
see  a  resemblance  to  little  owls.  The  curled-over  end  of  the  peanut 
shell  is  the  owl's  short  beak.  Take  a  penknife,  and  work  out  on 
either  side  this  beak  a  hole,  smooth  and  round,  for  an  eye.  Now 
take  broom-whisk  and  making  holes  in  the  shell  about  one-half 
way  from  the  beak  to  the  lower  end,  stick  in  two  bits  of  whisk  for 
legs ;  these  holes  must  be  made  with  a  needle  or  pin,  so  that  the 
broom-straws  will  not  be  loose,  and  set  at  the  right  angle  they  will 
make  the  owl  hold  itself  erect,  in  the  very  posture  of  an  owl  sitting 


588  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

.on  a  branch.  The  birds  may  be  varied  by  putting  on  some  of  them 
frilled  night-caps  of  tissue,  and  on  others  tissue  wings.  You  can  set 
your  owls  on  a  board  covered  with  green  flannel,  cloth  or  velvet, 
and  set  your  crab  lady  with  them  as  Minerva.  They  are  perfect 
copies  of  the  screech-owl. 

3.  Lemon  Pigs. 

Take  a  nice  smooth  lemon  with  a  well-defined  stem  end.  Split 
this  protuberance  for  a  snout;  in  a  proper  position  from  the  snout 
put  the  ends  of  two  burnt  matches  for  eyes ;  cut  a  triangle  of  the 
outer  rind  of  the  lemon  and  bend  it  upward  on  each  side  of  this 
head  for  ears ;  put  a  neat  bit  of  unburnt  match,  or  a  very  tiny  curl 
of  shaving  at  the  thick  end  of  the  lemon  for  a  tail.  Now  take  four 
unburnt  matches,  break  off  the  heads  and  run  them  into  the  under 
side  of  your  pig's  body  for  legs,  so  he  will  stand  erect  and  firmly, 
with  his  legs  well  spread  for  running.  In  a  place  not  too  dry  he 
will  remain  good  for  a  fortnight,  and  be  a  very  comic  pig  indeed. 

4.  Delicious  Dollies. 

Get  some  stout  wire ;  string  on  it  three  thick  figs,  the  upper  one 
transversely,  for  body  and  shoulders  of  your  dolly ; ,  string  nice 
plump  raisins  for  legs  and  arms,  and  fasten  them  to  this  body  by 
wires  run  through  the  upper  and  lower  figs.  Have  very  large  rai- 
sins pinched  into  proper  shape  for  hands  and  feet.  Put  on  a  big  fig 
for  a  head  :  string  dried  currants  on  very  fine  limber  wire  or  thread 
for  curls,  and  fasten  all  around  the  head ;  get  a  big  white  lozenge 
and  fasten  it  on  for  a  hat ;  put  a  pair  of  cloves  or  of  dried  currants  in 
for  eyes ;  use  a  tiny  red  candy  crowded  into  the  fig  for  a  mouth. 
You  can  dress  this  dolly  in  a  short  skirt  made  of  strung  pop-corn, 
or  you  can  put  belt  and  neck-chain  of  pop-corn,  and  buttons  of  little 
candies,  and  give  him  a  thin  stick  of  candy  for  a  cane. 

XXIII.— Answers  to  Curious  Questions. 

I.  The  laundress  and  telegraph  operator  carry  on  their  business 
from  pole  to  pole. 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  537 

2.  Six  dozen  equals  seventy-two.  Seventy-two  times  one  dozen 
equals  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four.  But  half  a  dozen  is 
only  six,  and  six  times  one  dozen  will  be  but  seventy-two. 

3* 

The  eye  of  deceit 

Can  best  counterfeit,     (count  'er  feet) 

And  so  I  suppose 

It  can  best  count  'er  toes. 

4.  Father  and  son. 

5-  51    -5     5i=6.    .5=|.     ergo,  S|  .5-6$. 

6.  7x1. 

7.  Twice  twenty-five  equals  50,  twice  5  =  10,  and  20  added  you 

will  have  30.     Difference  then  is  twenty. 

8.  8|.     The  emphasis  is  on  the  if.     The  fourth  of  33  =  8{. 

9.  Fill  the  three-gallon  keg  and  empty  it  into  the  five-gallon  keg. 
Then  in  the  eight-gallon  keg  five  gallons  are  left,  and  a  two-gallon 
space  remains  in  the  five-gallon   keg.     Take  out  the  filling  of  the 
three-gallon  keg  once  more  from  the  keg  of  eight,  and  fill  up  the 
five-gallon    keg.     Now  one   gallon  is  in  the  three-gallon  keg,  and 
five  in  the  five-gallon,  and  two  in  the  eight.     Empty  the  five  into 
the  eight,  and  the  one  into  the  five.      The  eight   now  has  seven 
gallons.     Fill  the  three  from  eight,  and  it  has  four.     Empty  the  thret- 
into  the  five,  and  that  has  four. 

10.  Plant  them 


1 1.  He  carries  over  the  goose,  leaving  the  fox  and  corn  together; 
then  he  goes  for  the  fox;  that  brought  over,  he  carries  back  the 
goose  and  gets  the  corn  and  takes  it  to  the  fox,  and  then  finally  goes 
for  the  goose. 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


12.  Plant  your  plums: 


Diagrams. 

\.  Divide  each  side  of  the  square  into  four  por- 
tions. By  drawing  lines  across  each  way  to  these 
points  you  produce  sixteen  of  the  squares.  Unite 
the  points  by  which  the  diamond  is  formed,  with- 
in which  you  will  find  a  square  one-quarter  the 
size  of  the  first.  Next  draw  a  diamond  within 
this  quarter-sized  square,  and  by  drawing  lines — like  a  Saint  An- 
drew's cross — through  the  whole  figure,  you  have  the  points  for  the 
seventeenth  square,  as  in  the  figure. 

2.  On  A  B  measure  i 
inch  from  B  to  P,  and  draw 
a  line  to  E,  the  top  of  the 
removed  square.  Then  from 
P  draw  a  line  to  D.  Cut  on 
these  two  lines.  Then  turn  the  three  pieces  so  that  E  P  are  one  side 
of  th»  square  and  P  D  the  other ;  then  add  one  triangle  at  the  side 
D  and  the  other  at  the  side  E,  and  you  have  a  perfect  square. 

3    Is   the   second   square.     It    is    capable    of    200 
changes  with  the  pieces  of  the  first  square. 

4.  The  lines  represent  the 
matches.  Remove  the  3  that  are 
crossed. 

Answers  to  Paradoxes. 
i .  Only  one — James  Sixth  of  Scotland — w as  king  when  he  was 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  589 

crowned  king  of  England ;  the  others  were  not  kings  until  they  were 
crowned. 

2.  XIX — remove  the  I  and  you  have  XX. 

3.  SIX  —  IX  =  S. 

IX—  X=  I  =  SIX. 
XL—   L=X. 

4.  IX  increased  by  5  =  SIX. 

5.  The  body  is  a  shoe. 

Answers  to  Conundrums. 

1.  She  found  a  little  prophet  (profit)  in  the  rushes  on  the  bank. 

2.  Gra-pes  (grey  apes). 

3.  A  crown  imperial. 

4.  A  Jonquil  (John-quill). 

5.  A  bulrush  (bull-rush). 

6.  You  (yew). 

7.  Ladies'  slippers. 

8.  Croesus  (cresses). 

9.  Morning-glory. 

10.  See  dar !  (cedar.) 

11.  When  made  into  little  pats. 

12.  Because  they  are  in-sects. 

13.  A  nail  in  a  shoe. 

14.  He  is  a  native  of  Hungary,  it  is  a  hungry  native. 

15.  A  dripping-pan. 

1 6.  Their  existence  is  only  in-fancy. 

17.  They  shoot  after  they  are  planted. 

1 8.  She  is  too  airy. 

19.  Because  it  is  one  bob  (English  word  for  shilling). 

20.  Because  it  is  a  tanner  (English  word  for  sixpence)* 

21.  Because  it  has  no  scruples. 

22.  When  it  is  in  arms. 

23.  Because  she  is  wood  (woo-ed). 

24.  He  is  bored  (board). 


590  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

25.  Because  he  is  sappy. 

26.  They  each  have  a  trunk. 

27.  He  should  make  a  bow  and  leave  (make  a  bough  and  leave). 

28.  His  bed. 

29.  When  it  is  a  little  reddish  (radish). 

30.  The  grate-bare  (great  bear). 

Games  of  Mesmerism. 

1.  The  two  are  confederates.    The  first  word  given  by  the  trance  is 
any  word  she  chooses,  as  hopeful,  -horse,  nosegay ;  and  the  mesmer- 
izer,  whose  paper  is  blank,  accepts  it,  saying,  "  Yes,  right,  that 's  mine." 
The  trance  now  takes  down  the  paper,  glancing  at  it  as  she  drops  it 
in  her  lap ;  but  this  paper  bears  the  next  word  which  she  is  to  guess, 
and  was  written  by  some  of  the  party ;  so,  when  the  next  slip  is 
rubbed  on  her  head,  she  announces  the  word  which  she  has  just  seen, 
and  so,  always  being  one  word  ahead,  reads  them  all.     To  make  the 
trick  less  apparent,  a  third  confederate  in  the  party  may  be  ready  to 
accept  the  first  word,  saying,  "  Yes,  that's  my  word,"  and  so.  the 
trance  is  always  one  ahead. 

2.  The  two  are  confederates,  and  the  sign  fixed  on  is  for  the  mes- 
merizer  to  say,  is  that  it  ?  of  the  right  object,  the  one  touched. 

3.  The  secret  here  is  for  the  mesmerizer  always  to  use  the  word 
and  before  the  article  touched.    The  two  being  confederates,  the  mes- 
merizer says  and  only  for  one  article. 

4.  The  trance  has  sheets  tied  to  her  waist  as  well  as  her  head,  and 
holds  under  the  upper  sheets  a  broom  or  pole,  to  the  top  of  which 
her  head  gear  is  fastened ;  as  the  mesmerizer  commands  she  slowly 
lifts  the  pole  (or  broom),  which,  raising  the  bonnet  and  upper  sheets, 
elongates  her  whole  figure. 

5.  A  pillow  is  tied  into  shape,  and  the  shawl  and  hat  are  put  on  it 
with  the  veil  and  a  short  dress-skirt.     The  trance  hides  bent  behind 
the  table,  thrusting  her  arms  under  the  little  chair,  so  that  her  hands 
with  shoes  on  them  come  out  as  feet,  moving  feet  before  the  figure. 
The  mesmerizer  puts  on  mittens  and  clasps  his  arms  about  the  pillow- 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY. 


591 


figure  to  be  its  arms  and  patting  hands :  only  the  pillow-figure  and 
the  mesmerizer  are  to  be  seen ;  and  the  pillow  wears  the  shawl,  and 
hat,  and  veil  of  the  trance,  and  as  it  moves  head,  hands,  and  feet, 
looks  very  funny. 

6.  Explained  sufficiently. 

7.  The  mesmerist  agrees  with  his  trance-confederate  that  he  shall 
clear  his  throat  before  the  right  word,  as,  hay,  harvest,  house,  hm — 
hope.     Or,  where  hm — why,  use,  troop,  etc.,  when  hope  or  why  are 
the  words. 

XXIV.— The  Language  of  Flowers. 

"  In  eastern  lands  they  talk  in  flowers 
And  tell  in  a  garland  their  loves  and  their  cares, 
Each  blossom  that  blooms  in  their  garden  bowers 
On  its  leaves  a  mystic  language  bears." 

Acacia • Friendship.     Camelia  Japonica Pity  becomes  Love. 

Acanthus Steadfastness.  \  Campanula Gratitude. 

Aconitum Deceit,  j  Cape  Jessamine Joy. 

"••*«-.      Good  Judgment.  \  Cardinal  Flower Arrogance. 

\  Catch- Fly Witting  Prisoner. 


Aloe. .      Superstition. 

Amaranth Immortality. 

Almond Honor,  in  Age. 

Anemone Fragility. 

Arum Treachery. 

Arbutus First  Love. 

Artemesia Endurance. 

Arbor  Vitae Firm  Friendship. 

Aster Modest  Beauty. 

Auricula Elegance. 

Bachelor's  Button Hope. 

Balm Social  Joys. 

Broom Humility. 

Broom-Corn Industry. 

Balsam Impatience. 

gay  Unchangeable. 

Box Constancy. 

Calla  Lily Feminine  Delicacy. 


Cedar Allegiance. 

China-aster  (double) Responsive  Love. 

China-aster  (single) Encouragement. 

Chrysanthemum  (red) Love. 

(white) Truth. 

(yellow) Wealth. 

Clematis Mental  Excellence. 

Cock's-Comb Foppery. 

Columbine  (purple) Reluctance. 

«  (red) Hope  and  Fear. 

Convolvulus Uncertainty. 

Cowslip Native  Grace. 

Crocus Cheerfulness. 

Crown  Imperial Majesty. 

Cypress Despair. 

Carnation Disdain. 

Dahlia Fewer  Thine. 

Daisy Unconscious  Beauty. 


592 


PRACTICAL  LIFE. 


Dandelion Coquetry. 

Eglantine /  wound  to  Heal. 

Elder Compassion. 

Everlasting.  ..  Never-ceasing  Remembrance. 

Fox-Glove Ambition. 

Fuchsia Adoration. 

Geranium  (fish) Thou  art  Charged. 

"         (oak) Love  ix  absence. 

"         (rose) Preference. 

"         (nutmeg) Wit 

Hawthorn Hope. 

Heart's-ease Peace. 

Hibiscus Beauty  is  Vain. 

Holly A  Reminder. 

Honey-suckle Fidelity. 

Hyacinth  (blue) .Jealousy. 

"         (pink) Devotion. 

"  (white) Purity. 

Hydrangea A  Boaster. 

Jasmine Maternal  Love. 

Jonquille Amiabilty. 

Iris A  Messenger. 

Indigo „ Assurance. 

Ivy Woman's  Love. 

Laburnum Pensive  Beauty. 

Lady-slipper Caprice. 

Larkspur Inconstancy. 

Laurel Falsehood. 

Lavender Faithfulness. 

Lemon Discretion. 

Lilac First-  L«ve. 

Lily  (white) Purity. 

"    (yellow) False. 

"      Tiger Fierce. 

"  of  the  Valley Delicacy. 

Locust Undying  Affection. 

Lupine Indignation. 

Magnolia Perseverance. 


Marigold C>'uel!y. 

Mignonette Moral  />«;// ,'r. 

Mimosa So  mm'. 

Mock-Orange. .    Counterfeit. 

Myrtle l.ove. 

Narcissus Egotism. 

Nettle Scandal. 

Nightshade Suspicion. 

Nasturtion ...  .  .  Wit. 


Oleander 

Olive 

Orange  Flowers 


Beware. 

Peace. 

.Bridal  Festivity. 


Parsely Usefulness. 

Passion  Flower Devotion. 

Peach-Blossom My  Choice. 

Periwinkle Recollection. 

Phlox Union. 

Pine Philosophy. 

Pine  (spruce) Farewell. 

Pink  (white) Ingenuousness. 

"    (red) Attachment. 

"     (china) Aversion. 

"  (variegated) Refusal. 

Peony Ostentation. 

Polyanthus Confidence. 

Pomegranate  Flower Maturity. 

Poppy  (red) Consolation. 

"      (white) Disaster. 

"  (variegated) Unlovely  Beauty. 

Primrose Modest  Worth. 

"  (evening) Inconstancy. 

Pansy Thoughts. 

Ranunculus Rural  Belle. 

Rosemary Remembrance. 

Rue Disdain. 

Rose-bud Confession. 

Rose  (burgundy) Innocent  Beauty. 

"     (damask) Sweetness. 

"     (red) Modesty. 

"     (moss) Superior  Merit. 


B  UREA  U  MISCEL LA  NY. 


65W 


Rose  (white) Freedom. 

"     (wild) Simplicity. 

"     (cinnamon) Unpretending. 

Sage Domestic   Virtues. 

Snapdragon .  .  . .  • Flattery. 

Snow-ball Union. 

Snow-drop Bravery. 

Sorrel Sarcasm. 

Speedwell True  Love. 

Spider-Wort Friendship. 

Star  of  Bethelem •    . .  .Reconciliation. 

Solidago Encouragement. 

Strawberry A  Pledge. 

Sumach Splendor. 

Sun-Flower Ambition. 


Sweet-William Finesse. 

Sweet-Pea Departnre. 

Stock Flattery. 

Thistle Misanthropy. 

Thyme Esteem. 

Tuberose Appreciation. 

Tulip Vanity. 

Violet  (blue) Constancy. 

"      (white) Modest  Virtue. 

Wall-Flower Courage  in  Trial. 

Weeping-Willow Forsaken. 

Wood-Sorrel Tenderness. 

Woodbine Fraternal  Love. 

Water-Lily Silence. 

Yarrow Healing. 


XXV.— The  Comparative  Values  of  Foods. 


Composition  and  Valuation 

of  Animal  Foods. 
(Valuation  of  Medium  Bcrf 

AtSMHied as  too.) 

Meat. 

Beef  (lean)  .  .  . 
Beef  (medium)  .  . 
.  Beef  (fat)  .... 
Veal  (fat)  .... 
Mutton  (medium) 
Pork  (fat)  .... 
Smoked  beef  .  .  . 
Smoked  ham  .  .  . 

Game,  Fowls,  etc. 
Venison      ."-.*.     , 
Priarie  hen      .     .     . 
Duck 

Milk,  Eggs,  etc. 
Cow's  milk      .     .     . 
Cow's  milk  (skimmed) 
Cow's  milk  (cream)  . 
33 


Total  per  cent. 
Edible  Solids 
(Actual  Nutri- 
tive Materials 
in  Samples.) 


Nutri- 
tive 

Valua- 
tion. 


91-3 

100.0 
II  2.Q 
92.4 

86.6 

1 16.0 
146.0 
157-0 

88.3 

93-9 
104.0 

23-8 
18.5 
56.1 


591  PRACTICAL    LIFE. 

Butter —  124-0 

Cheese  (skimmed  milk) —  159.0 

Cheese  (fat) —  151-0 

Cheese  (very  fat) •    .     .        —  103.0 

Hen's  eggs —  72-2 

Fish  (Fresh). 

Halibut 21.45  87-9 

Flounder    .     . 5.97  82.4 

Cod  .     .     .     .     .    .     .     .  ...     ...     .   11.45  68-2 

Haddock    ............     8.88  74.9 

Alewives 11.95  86-8 

Eels  (salt  water)  .     .     .     .     ...     .     .   22.50  95.6 

Shad 16.29  98-2 

Striped  bass 8.94  80.4 

Yellow  pike  perch 8.45  80.9 

Black-bass 9.57      .     86.5 

Mackerel 15.48  9°-9 

Bluefish 10.96  85.4 

Salmon 32.99  I07-9 

Salmon  trout J4-38  95-7 

Brook  trout 10.77  84.2 

Whitefish !     .     .     .  13-69  104.5 

Porgy 9-76  85.2 

Blackfish     10.72  93-9 

Red  snapper 10.10  90.7 

Smelt 12.51  73-8 

Spanish  mackerel 20.65  105.9 

White  perch 9-4i  89-2 

Masquallange 12.52  91.8 

Herring if. 52  100.4 

Sheep's-head n-99  96-9 

Turbot 15-61  84.4 

Spent  Fish  (Fresh). 

Salmon  (male) 14-87  9'-° 

Salmon  (female) 12.17  80.4 

Landlocked  salmon  (male) 10.97  76.4 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  696 

Landlocked  salmon  (female) 10.74  77.7 

Prepared  Fish. 

Boned  Cod      .     .-.     .v  V;  .  x...  .     .     .30.91  106.9 

Salt  Cod .  20.45  102.5 

Smoked  halibut    .     .*,.....     .  31.63  102.2 

Smoked  herring    .     .     ,.- 28.66  163.2 

Canned  salmon 29.95  *°7-2 

Salt  mackerel 30.97  m.i 

Invertebrates. 

Lobster ,   .     .  7.9g  50.3 

Scallops .:    .     .  17.47  68.8 

Oysters  (European)  ........  21.8 

This  table  was  compiled  by  Professor  Atwater. 

XXVI.— The  Language  of  Wall  Street. 

Accounts  of  speculations  and  stock  brokers'  affairs  are  almost  un- 
intelligible to  the  ordinary  reader,  who  has  happily  kept  himself 
aloof  from  the  gold  board  and  its  excitements.  To  render  the  daily 
paper  more  readily  understood,  we  give  the  following  table  of 

Words  and  Phrases  Used  by  Stock-Brokers  and  Speculators. 

"Bear  market" — When  the  market  is  heavy  and  falling,  and 
lower  prices  are  expected  in  consequence  of  the  efforts  of  the 
"  bears." 

"  Bear  the  market " — /.  e.,  operate  for  a  decline.  A  bear  is  naturally 
"  short "  of  stocks,  and  expecting  to  profit  by  a  decline. 

"  Borrowing  and  loaning  stocks  " — When  a  party  has  sold  stock 
short  and  has  not  bought  it  in  by  the  time  delivery  must  be  made, 
he  "  borrows  "  the  stock  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  delivery,  pay- 
ing the  owner  the  market  price  at  the  time,  and  agreeing  to  return 
it  at  the  same  price  on  demand  or  at  a  fixed  time,  the  lender  of  the 
stock  paying  the  borrower  an  agreed  rate  of  interest  on  the  money, 
or  the  borrower  paying  the  lender  an  agreed  premium  for  the  use 
of  the  stock,  as  the  case  may  be. 


596  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

"  Cover,  to  '  cover  one's  shorts '  " — Where  stock  has  been  sold 
short  and  the  seller  buys  it  in  to  realize  his  profit,  or  to  protect  him- 
self from  loss,  or  to  make  his  delivery.  This  is  "  covering  short 
sales." 

"A  call " — The  privilege  obtained,  for  a  consideration,  of  calling 
for  a  certain  number  of  shares  of  stock,  at  a  given  price,  within  a 
time  named. 

"  Carrying  stock  " — Holding  stock  by  a  broker  for  his  customers 
on  a  margin. 

"  Clique  " — A  combination  of  operators  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  artificially  influencing  the  market  by  their  combined  operations. 

"  Corners  " — When  the  market  is  oversold,  the  shorts,  if  compelled 
to  deliver,  sometimes  find  themselves  in  a  "  corner." 

"  Curbstone  brokers  " — Men  who  are  not  members  of  any  regular 
organization  and  do  business  mainly  upon  the  sidewalk. 

"Flyer" — Is  a  small  side  operation,  not  employing  one's  whole 
capital  or  not  in  the  line  of  his  ordinary  operations. 

"Lamb" — A  very  green  "  outsider"  who  essays  stock  speculation. 

"  Limited  order  " — An  order  to  buy  and  sell  within  a  certain  fixed 
price,  above  or  below  which  the  party  giving  the  order  does  not  wish 
to  go. 

"Margins"  —  Where  one  buys  or  sells  for  speculation,  and 
deposits  with  his  broker  a  percentage  of  value  to  enable  the  latter 
to  "carry"  stock  an'd  protect  him  against  loss  from  fluctuations  in 
value. 

"  Milking  the  street  " — The  act  of  cliques  or  great  operators  who 
hold  certain  stocks  so  well  in  hand  that  they  cause  any  fluctuations 
they  please.  By  alternately  lifting  and  depressing  prices,  they 
"  milk"  the  small  operators  and  the  outside  public. 

"  Put  " — To  buy  a  "  put "  is  to  obtain  the  right,  for  a  considera- 
tion, to  deliver  a  stock  at  a  certain  agreed  price  within  a  given  number 
of  days. 

"  Stop  order  " — An  order  to  sell  out  a  stock  in  case  it  should  de- 
cline to  a  certain  price,  or  to  buy  in  short  stock  in  case  it  should 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  597 

advance  to  a  certain  price.  A  means  adopted  by  a  party  "  long  "  or 
"  short "  of  a  stock  to  limit  his  loss  to  a  certain  figure. 

"  Turning  stocks  " — Consists  in  buying  for  cash  or  regular  way, 
and  selling  a  like  amount  of  the  same  stock  at  the  same  time  on 
"  option,"  thereby  making  six  per  cent,  interest  and  any  difference 
that  may  exist  at  the  time  between  the  market  price  of  the  stock  for 
cash  and  on  option  ;  or  selling  for  cash  and  buying  on  option,  when 
the  stock  is  hard  to  carry  and  the  holder,  hoping  for  a  rise,  does  not 
want  to  "  get  out "  of  it. 

"  Twist  on  the  shorts  " — A  clique  phrase  used  where  the  shorts 
have  oversold  heavily,  and  the  market  has  been  suddenly  advanced, 
compelling  them  to  settle  at  ruinous  rates  ;  or  when  stocks  are  with- 
drawn from  the  loan  market  and  made  difficult  to  borrow  except  at  a 
large  premium  for  their  use. 

"  Washing  " — Is  where  one  broker  arranges  with  another  to  buy 
a  certain  stock  when  he  offers  it  for  sale.  The  bargain  is  fictitious, 
and  the  effect,  when  not  detected,  is  to  keep  it  quoted  and  to  afford 
a  basis  for  bona  fide  sales.  It  is  not  countenanced  by  the  rules  of 
the  exchange,  and  if  discovered  renders  members  engaged  in  it  liable 
to  the  penalty  of  expulsion. 

Words  as  to  Watt  Street. 

The  editor  of  a  New  York  paper  holds  this  sage  discourse  to  his 
readers : 

"  If  the  evil  effects  of  Wall  street  speculation  were  confined  to  those 
who  dwell  in  the  city,  the  injuries  inflicted  would  be  comparatively 
limited ;  but  in  these  days  of  the  telegraph  there  is  scarcely  a  town 
in  the  country  whose  daily  or  weekly  newspaper  does  not  contain 
stock  quotations,  and  the  natural  result  is  that  speculators  are  found 
all  over  the  land.  The  Wall  street  fever  has  spread  in  all  directions. 
It  is  the  transactions  for  these  outside  operators,  who  send  by  mail 
or  telegraph  orders  to  buy  cr  sell  stocks,  which  have  during  the 
past  two  years  swelled  the  -operations  of  the  Stock  Exchange  to 
such  enormous  proportions.  Everybody  wants  to  be  rich,  and  the 


598  PRACTICAL  LIFE. 

newspaper  stories  of  men  suddenly  acquiring  wealth  in  Wall  street, 
have  inflamed  and  wrecked  many  men  in  various  walks  of  life,  in 
country  as  well  as  city. 

"  Many  a  young  clerk's  ruin  may  be  traced  to  the  fascination  of 
Wall  street;  many  a  merchant  has  bankrupted  himself  by  ventur- 
ing into  the  same  whirlpool.  Banks  have  been  broken  by  specula- 
tive officers  who  ventured  the  money  intrusted  to  their  care  upon 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  price  of  stocks,  and  the  mania  seems 
spreading. 

"All  this  time  the  brokers  are  coining  money,  for  however  stocks 
may  go,  up  or  down,  they  get  a  commission  on  every  transaction. 
If  the  amateur  speculator  would  stop  to  consider,  he  would  see  that 
even  if  he  were  to  come  out  just  even  on  his  speculations — that 
is,  if  his  gains  and  losses  were  to  exactly  average,  yet  he  would 
still  lose  money,  for  he  would  have  to  pay  the  commission  to  the 
broker  for  doing  his  business.  But  the  outside  speculator  never 
thinks  of  this.  He  trusts  to  luck,  while  the  big  speculator,  who  is 
versed  in  the  inner  methods  of  the  street,  manipulates  stocks 
at  his  pleasure,  and  when  the  time  is  ripe,  causes  a  sudden  rise 
or  fall,  which  ruins  the  lambs — as  the  multitude  of  small  outside 
speculators  are  called — and  sweeps  all  their  money  into  the  big 
sharks'  pockets. 

"  Sometimes  a  man  in  a  boarding-house  will  make  a  little  hit  in  the 
street.  Straightway  everybody  in  the  house,  men  and  women,  will 
make  an  effort  in  the  same  direction,  either  individually  or  by  com- 
bining small  sums  for  one  of  their  number  to  operate  with.  Sooner 
or  later  disaster  overtakes  them,  and  hilarity  is  changed  to  despon- 
dency. It  is  amazing  to  see  the  extent  to  which  the  infatuation  goes. 
Even  ministers,  as  well  as  doctors  and  lawyers  and  merchants,  have 
yielded  to  the  spell,  and  there  are  some  brokers  who  have  many 
women  among  their  customers.  When  a  big  speculator  goes  down, 
the  country  rings  with  his  misfortunes :  but  the  thousands  who 
lose  their  few  hundreds  of  dollars  —  to  them  as  serious  a  loss 
as  the  loss  of  Vanderbilt's  millions  would  be  to  him — are  never 


BUREAU  MISCELLANY.  599 

heard  of.  They  plod  their  weary  way  along,  some  robbing  their 
employers,  others  depriving  their  families  of  the  comforts  of  life : 
some  taking  to  drink  and  wretched  dissipation,  and  some  committing 
suicide. 

"  Lower  in  rank  than  the  regular  brokers  are  dealers  who  invest  for 
their  customers  vdlry  small  sums  of  money — five  dollars  or  ten  dol- 
lars at  a  time.  This  permits  office  boys,  and  messengers  and  young 
clerks,  to  speculate.  These  lose  far  oftener  than  they  win,  for  the 
broker  continues  iq  business,  and  how  could  he  do  so  if  he  did  not 
make  money  ?  and  if  he  makes  money,  the  customer  must  lose  it 
These  places — bucket-shops,  as  they  are  called — are  most  dangerous 
and  demoralizing  in  their  influence. 

"  Still  lower  in  the  scale  of  brokers  are  those  who  'advertise  in  the 
newspapers  and  by  circulars  sent  through  the  mails,  offering  great 
advantages  to  those  who  may  be  induced  to  speculate  with  them. 
The  amounts  required  are  small,  and  the  schemes  are  most  delusive. 
Thousands  of  people  have  been  swindled  by  these  men.  From  all 
over  the  country  they  receive  small  sums  for  investment.  Large 
dividends  are  promised,  and  sometimes  paid,  to  induce  the  person 
duped  to  make  a  large  investment.  This  scheme  often  succeeds.  A 
man  who  has  been  paid  six  or  seven  dollars,  which,  he  is  assured,  is 
the  profit  on  his  deposit  of  five  dollars,  is  reasonably  likely  to  respond 
with  ten  or  twenty  dollars  when  a  still  more  promising  scheme  is 
unfolded  to  him.  He  does  not  stop  to  consider  that  the  so-called 
dividends  paid  at  first  are  really  made  up  from  money  bodily  trans- 
ferred to  him  out  of  sums  accumulated  from  other  victims  of  the 
swindle.  Yet  this  has  been  done  in  thousands  and  thousands 
of  cases ;  and  once  the  larger  amount  called  for  is  sent,  the  victim 
never  hears  of  his  money  again,  and  he  applies  in  vain  for  any 
return. 

"  There  are  honest  brokers  in  Wall  street,  but  there  are  also  many 
vampires  there,  who  fatten  and  grow  rich  upon  the  credulity  and 
cupidity  of  the  uninitiated. 

"  Better  keep  away  from  Wall  street.     The  big  fish  have  always 


600 


PRACTICAL  LIFE: 


eaten  the  little  ones,  and  they  always  will.  If  you  want  to  get  rich, 
be  frugal,  industrious,  and  saving.  If  you  see  a  chance  for  a  safe 
investment  with  honest  people,  put  in  your  money,  and  wait  patiently 
for  honest  returns ;  but  don't  try  to  get  rich  by  stock-gambling,  for 
that  road  will  surely  lead  you  to  poverty." 

These  are  words  of  warning  needed  by  the  young  in  their  zeal  for 
success.  But  let  calm  assurance  prohibit  alike  thirsty  ambition  and 
anxious  care.  Self-denial,  industry,  uprightness,  will  secure  for 
every  one  both  honor  and  competence. 


77 


INDEX. 


A.  PACK 

Acquaintances,  dangerous 260 

Addison 25,  93 

Address,  forms  of 292 

Advice,  its  place   51 

Affectation 205 

Affection   natural,  what  it  is 26 

Agassiz 146 

Age  for  leaving  home 153 

Agreement,  an 170 

Agriculture 378 

Air,  its  effects 61 

"     "  office 62 

Alphabet 21,  95,  181,  359 

America,  its  climate 77 

American  artists 155 

Amusements 106,  107,  119 

"  for  city  workers 79 

"  why 105 

Ancient  books 232 

Arbors 207 

Archery "7 

Arms,  manual  of 1 14 

Art  schools,  abroad 155,  391 

"        ««        in  America 155,  392 

Articles  needful  to  take  to  school 165 

Attentions  demanded 262 

Authority  of  the  teacher 1 72 

Awkwardness 183 


Ball-playing. 


»5 


Baron  Trenck 80 

Bashfulness 183 

Baths,  varieties  and  use  of 63 

Beauty 1 70 

Bible 134,  143,  404 

"  in  public  schools 180 

Billiards 123,  124 

Billings,  good  advice  from 29 

Binding  books 231,  241 

Biography 222 

Birds,  destruction  of 113 

Black  letter 240 

Bluntness 286 

Boarding  one's  self  at  school 162 

Boarding-school  accidents 166 

Boating. ill 

"  parties 206 

Books 136,  164,  229,  232,  234 

Book-keeping 397 

Book- worms 236,  247 

Boots 312 

Borax,  uses  of 323 

Borrowers 236 

Bowls I'? 

Bowls,  finger 275 

Bowing 294 

Brain 227 

•«  food  for 337 

Brevity 286 

Brushes 3'3>  3'6,  3*3 

Buckwheat  as  food 7' 

Bureau  of  Information. 35 

(601) 


INDEX. 


Butter 368 

Buttering  bread,  how  done 275 

Buying  books 230 

"       clothes 301,  314 

c. 

Cabinets •> 146 

Calls,  etiquette  of 282,  295 

"     hours  for 283 

"     New  Year's 283 

Camphor-cream,  recipe  for 166 

Capacity,  its  limit  and  elasticity .  92, 103,  226 

Carbolic  acid,  uses  of 323 

Card-playing 120 

Care  of  books 236 

Caricatures 255 

Caricature  drawing 39 1 

Carriage,  upright 84 

Carving 196 

Castle-building   45 

Censoriousness 206 

Chastity 460 

Cheerfulness 43 

Child,  its  individual  rights 25 

Children,  provision  for 22 

Children's  dress 315 

Christianity,  its  powers. .    ..    57 

.Church-door  weddings 490 

Cigarettes,  danger  of 73 

Citizens,  foreign-born 21 

Civilization 483 

Cleaning  clothes 313 

Clerking 381 

Clubs 441 

Codicil,  a 171 

Co-education  of  the  sexes 173 

Cold 83 

College,  education  at 160 

Colors,  what  to  wear 302 

Commandments,  Ten 21,  26,  180 

Commercial  schools 159 


Common  folk 477 

Common-sense,  its  need,  etc.,  38,  40, 

46,  54,  55,  367 

Companions,  their  influence 169,  192 

Complexion,  care  of 324 

Condolence,  to  express 432 

Congratulations,  to  express 433 

Conquerors,  their  methods 93 

Constitution,  feeble,  of  great  men 40 

Contagious  diseases,  care  of 354 

Conversation ....   243 

"  etiquette  of 286 

Costumes,  exquisite 308 

Courtesy 183 

Creative  power 393 

Creeds,  change  of 156 

Cromwell 91 

Croquet,  dress  for 1 16 

Cup-boards 211 

Curiosities,  natural 146 

Curiosity 288 

Custom,  power  of 188 

D. 

Dairy  work 367 

Dancing 125,  126 

Dandies 315 

Danger,  a  terrible 264 

David  and  Saul 406 

Days  for  marriages 499 

Daylight  and  colors 307 

Death  penalty 514 

Debate,  rules  for 449 

Debating  societies : 444 

Deceit,  cultivation  of 170 

Decencies  of  shopping 295 

Deeds  worth  doing 335 

Demosthenes 91 

Denominational  schools 156 

Dentifrice,  a  good 64 

Despair 100 


INDEX. 


603 


Devotion 149 

Dictionaries 230 

Differing  and  contradicting 286 

Dinner,  a  model 70 

Diplomas 357 

Discounts  on  books » 162 

Discrimination  in  reading 220 

Dishonesty 471 

Divorce 45 1 

Domestic  angel 185 

Drawing.   147 

Dress.83,  117,  127,  128,  167,  189,  197, 

202,  284,  301,  302,  312,  316,  320 

Draughts,  effect  on  health 63 

Drill,  military 113 

Drinking,  social 179 

Drivers 138 

Dust-holes 211 

Duties  of  a  Secretary 446 

Duty  to  the  Freedmen 462 


Early  choice  of  married  partners 265 

Earth,  the,  its  wealth 363 

Ease 478 

Eating 194 

"      and  brain  work 66 

"      rules  for 66,  69 

Economical  living  in  cities 159 

Economy 54.  321 

Education 150,  213,  479 

"         the  amount  imperative 95 

"         compulsory 158 

"        in  music 393 

Elocution 397 

Elopements 501 

Eloquence,  Luther's  rule  for 403 

Emancipation  of  women 366,  376 

Emergencies,  their  use 42 

Emerson's  advice 209 

Emigrants,  needs  of 225 


Emigrant  population,  how  to  manage..     24 

Employment  of  time 171 

Employment  for  women 348 

Encyclopaedias 210,  211,  214 

Enemies  of  books 236 

Engagements,  long 268 

English  dress 307 

"       manners,  some 443 

Engraving 39 1 

Entertaining  guests 194 

Entertainments,  burdensome 188 

Errors,  examples  of 424 

Eruptions  on  the  skin,  cause  of. 71 

Escorts  for  young  ladies 428,  429 

Esprit  de  corps  in  school 172 

Ethics,  family 475 

Etiquette  of  correspondence 258 

European  life 155 

Examination  for  Naval  Academy 411 

Example,  force  of 29 

Exercise 80,  82 

Exertion,  excessive 82 

Extravagance 1 88 

Eyes,  care  of 60,  61 

Eye-sight 281 

F. 

Fame,  power  of 367,  478 

Family,  the  constitution  of  the 460 

"  sympathy 28 

Fancy  paper  and  ink 423 

Farmers ?8 

"  work 76,  82,  83,  224,  334,  337 

Fashions  in  script 423 

"  "  school 157 

Fashion,  tyranny  of 61 

Father's  boots 99 

Feeding  and  eating 275 

Fickleness 248 

Fighting 3'7 

Fire-arms,  carrying 48* 


001 


Fishing 1 12 

Fitness  in  things 200,  377,  406 

Flannel 322 

Flirtations 177,  247,  249,  250,  252 

Flowers,  wedding  use  of 485,  486 

Folly,  early 177 

"  punished 455 

Food,  curiosities  in  regard  to 65 

"  nutritive  values  of 68 

Foreign  cooks 23 1 

"  dress  described 308 

"  schools 154 

Form  of  a  constitution 448 

Fortune,  disadvantage  of 39 

France 18,  217,  291 

Franchise,  educational  limits  of 139 

French  manners 78 

Friends,  to  choose 176 

Friendships  at  school,  etc 174,  175 

Fruit-culture 381 

"  wedding  use  of 489 

Fun,  dangerous 479 

Fussiness,  evils  of. 30 

G. 

Gambling 1 20,  122 

Games  for  the  house 117 

Garden-parties 207 

Gardening  for  profit 362 

Geography 232 

Genius 9'»  333.  391,  479 

Gentlemen's  dress 311,  314 

Germans,  practicality  of  the 380 

Gifts,  proper 261 

Girls,  aiding  their  fathers 366 

"     in  shops 349 

"     ,  some  Western 365 

Glass,  looking,  nt  weddings 493 

"      at  weddings 493 

Gloves 320 

Good  manners 291 


Goods  for  gentlemen's  suits 313 

Gorgonizing 18 1 

Governesses,  travelling 466 

Grammar 139 

Greatness,  royal  road  to 45 

"        true 88 

Greek  marriage  customs 304,  305 

Greek-knot,  for  the  hair 305 

Grocery  business 371,  382 

(•round work 379 

Guardians,  proper 466 

Guardianship,  too  close 31 

"              "    loose 31 

Gunning 113 

Gymnasiums 115 

H. 

I  lair-dressing 303 

Hands 284 

"      and  feet 184 

Handicrafts 378 

Haste 470 

1  lappiness  for  youth 53 

H.iNiy  marriages 267 

Hats 301 

Head,  the 304 


"  to  cleanse  the 264 

Health 192 

'«  in  marriage 267 

High  art 291 

Hoydens 263 

Hobbies 97 

Holland,  its  soil 94 

Home  schools. . , 154 

Honesty 332 

Horace 305 

Horsemanship 131 

Hours  for  weddings 500 

Housekeeping 345 

Housework 34^ 

How  long? 376 


IM'l    \ 


rxoi 

I  lues  of  flowers 397 

Hugh  Miller  ut  school 173 

Human  nature , ,,    04 

Mumming 380 

Humor 391 

Hymn-hook  fiends 373 

I. 

Ideals 99 

Idleness 480 

Ignorance 32,  129,  158,  178,  233,  367 

Ike  Marvel 134 

Illiteracy 139 

Illness  in  school 166 

Illustrative  drawing ...,,,   390 

Impertinence 293 

Incompetence, ...... 380 

Independence  of  conscience 510 

Independent  thought,  cultivation  of..,     30 

"  women 348 

Indifference 291 

Industrial  schools,  plan  for 419 

Industries,  new 34,  372 

Information,  general 214 

Inheritance,  our  children's 33 

Iniquity,  the  Mormon 461 

Insanity,  excuse  for  murder,  etc 514 

Insipidity  in  talk 287 

Insolvency,  chronic 468 

Integrity 469 

Intemperance 460 

Intentnes*  of  purpose 376 

Interruptions  of  study „ . . . .    137 

Introductions,  etiquette  of 280 

Introduction,  letters  of 434 

Invitations,  forms  for '. 427 

Irish  wedding* $03 

Italian  women,  famous 395 

Italy,  marriage  conflict  in 505 


J. 


Java,ca*tomsin. 


496 


Jewelry  ..........................  ji| 

Jewii.li  wedding  ceremonies  ........  ,,  504 

Joulfioy  on  (  omimm  HFIIHC  ...........  4* 

Journal*,  which  to  lake  ..............  321 

Judging  for  one's  self  ............ 

Judgment,  good  ....................  476 

Justice  .........................  183,  341 

K. 

Keeping  bees  ......................  370 

Kerchiefs  .......................  |f| 

Killing  tim.  .........                     ...  106 

Kiiiftky,  Clurto,  quotation   from,,,,  144 

Kissing  ........................  394 

Khurdifttan,  customs  of  .......  ......  ,  501 

Knives,  how  to  hold  nt  lahl«  .........  276 

Knowledge,  dangers  of  ........  .,,..,  55 

"         when  useful  .........  212,213 


tabor,  relative  ........  .  .........  76,  441) 

••     manual  .....................  8H 

Lalwralorie*  ........................  147 

Languages,  to  learn,.  .,.,,,.,......  140 

Latin  wedding  rites.,  ,.,  ..........  ,.  506 

Laudanum,  its  use  ............... 

Laughter  ..........................  to! 

La*  ..............................  JJS 

"   education  for  the,,  ,,,,,.,  ......  401 

"   its  source  ..................  180,  512 

Law's  great  schemes  ............  471,  472 

leading  in  printing  ...........  ,  .  ,  ,  24! 

learning,  for  women  ..............  ,,  347 

leaving  table  ......................  27$ 

letters,  varieties  of  ...............  .  431 

I/evity  ............................  *5« 

library  .....................     229,242 

Life,  its  aim  ........................  199 

"    foreign  social  ..................  1*9 

"    at  Signal  Service  school  ......  4>'< 

Life-saving  service,.  ,,  ,,,.,,,  ......  4'7 

Light,  artificial  ....................  fe 


(W6 


INDEX. 


Light,  iu  physical  effects 58 

Lights,  colored 203 

Lime-water 323 

Linguists,  some  famous 140,  141 

Liquors,  offered  to  guests 284 

Literary  parties 198 

Literature 460,  477 

"         pursuit  of 389 

Local  news 220,  221 

Locusts,  th«  seventeen  year 244 

Longevity  abroad 78 

Longfellow,  quotation  from 33 

Lord's  Prayer 180 

Loudncss  in  manners 279 

Love 475 

"    its  mode  of  growth 25 

"    flirtation 248 

Lovers  of  lx>oks 237 

Luncheon 196 

Ltut 460 

M. 

Macaulay 407 

Mallhus,  views  of 327 

Manners,  good  rules  for 187 

"         in  church 272 

"         at  school 167 

"         in  public  places 242,  273 

"         in  travelling 467 

Marriage,  age  for 212 

"         in  ancient  Egypt 507 

"         forbidden 508 

"         intention  of 453 

"         unsuitable 49,452,  462 

Mathematicians 136 

Maxim,  Pope's 300 

Medical  education 394 

Medicine,  care  in  taking . ...  322 

Method 173 

Miller,  Hugh 150 

Ministry,  preparation  for 403 


PACE 

Minutes,  use  of 130 

Miserable,  being 42 

M  issionaries 49,  360 

Mistakes  in  dress 298 

"  "  life 100 

Mixed  schools 173 

Money  not  indispensable 38 

"      at  marriages 497 

"  as  an  object 39 

Months  for  marrying 498 

Moping 43 

Moral  courage 190 

"  limitations • 192 

Morals,  theatrical 1 29 

Morganatic  marriages 492 

Mothers,  delicate,  hope  for 29 

Mottoes  on  rings 485 

Mouths,  filling 344 

Muffs 376 

Music 198 

"  at  marriages 500 

Mysteries 519 

N. 

Nails,  care  of 64 

Names,  mentioning 182 

Naming 447 

Natural  selection  in  studies 161 

Naval  engineers,  to  enter  the  corps  of..  412 

Navigation 395 

Neatness .' 274,  313 

Necessities,  eternal 513 

Neckties 312 

Negations 287,  516,  523 

Nervousness 77 

Newness 179 

Nicknames 293 

Normal  schools 1 60 

Novels 234 

Nurses,  training  schools  for 375 

Nursing  the  sick 35 ' 


INDEX. 


607 


o. 

Objects,  external,  their  influence 169 

Object  in  life 86,  92 

Observation,  close 226 

Occupations,  effects  of. 

Odors,  how  to  cleanse  of. . . 64,  32' 

Offences  and  limits 282 

Opiates 

Orators,  young 184 

Order  of  exercises 449 

Organization  of  societies , 

Ornament  in  dress 300 

Ostentation 292 

Ourselves 330 

Outfit  for  West  Point 408 

P. 

Packing  books 236 

"        a  trunk,  how  to,  etc 163,  314 

Pages,  Congressional,  etc 419 

Papers,  how  to  read 217 

Parents,  their  duty  to  their  children. ..     25 

Parental  cares 328 

"        rights 509 

Parliamentary  rules 441,  447 

Parlor  magic 1 1 8 

Partnerships 470 

Penmanship,  rules  for 423 

Perfumes  used  at  weddings 490 

Periodicals 215,  216 

Per  sf  sins 126 

Personals  in  papers 263 

Pessimist,  a „  326 

Petition 450 

Philopenas 261 

Physique,  a  poor 56 

Pica,  and  other  types 240 

Picnics,  dress  fit  for 310 

Pictures,  mounting 242 

Pigs 194 

Piles,  building. 94 


Pilot  service,  the 

Pivotal  ideas 

Plates  at  table 

Poetry  and  bees 

"      foreign 

Polygamy 

Population,  a  surplus  of 

Portfolios 

Portrait,  a 

of  a  flirt 

Poultry-raising 

Poverty  in  youth 

Powder,  playing  with 

Presents  received  from  gentlemen 

"        marriage 

Prevention  and  cure  of  disease 

Pride 

"     a  foolish 

"     parental 

Printing  as  a  business 

Progress,  what  it  is 200, 

Property  unsafe 

Proxy,  marriages  by 

Prudence 

Prudery  and  propriety 

Prussian  weddings 

Public  schools 

Punctuation,  curious 

Pupils,  young 

Purchase  of  books 

Purgatory  and  prejudice 

Puritans , 


PAGE 
417 
462 
276 
370 
141 
509 
21 
242 
298 
254 
369 

39 
253 
261 

495 
356 
292 

349 
90 
382 
405 
237 
491 
265 
452 
5°3 
156 
426 
154 
235 
277 
1 08 
306 
94 
340 


urple 

Purse 

history  of  an  empty 

Q. 

Quack  work 522 

Qualifications  of  nurses 351 

"    'l          "  teachers 359 

Qualities,  mental 33* 


60S 


INDEX. 


Qualities,  natural 330 

"        three  important 340 

Quarantine,  extensive 356 

Quarto,  etc.,  meaning  of 239 

Question,  to  suppress  a 441 

Questions,  curious. 199 

"          in  Naval  Engineers'  exam- 
inations  413 

Quick  divorcing 458 

Quickness  of  observation 278 

"  wit 197 

Quintessence  of  death 457 

Quorum,  a 448 

R. 

Ratio  of  divorce 456 

Reading ..214,  219 

Rebellion  in  children,  its  laws,  etc. .  26, 

172,  179 

Recommendations,  forms  for 437 

Recreation 77>  1O9 

Reference,  books  for 233 

Refining,  gradual  process  of 483 

Refreshments 204 

Regards  and  regrets 429 

Reign  of  law 512 

Religion  in  articulo  mortis,  Plato  on..  521 

"        ignored 513 

"        and  learning 149 

its  place 134,  179 

"        practical 520 

"        scheme  of 513 

Religious  investigation 5'3 

Reproof,  well  given 259 

Resolution 93,  449 

Rest 75 

Restlessness,  dangers  of 465 

Reviews 222,  406 

Richardson,  Dr.,  views  of  light 60 

Riches 327 

Ridicule...                                          ..  188 


Riding  parties 208 

Ring  wearing 318 

"     the  wedding 484,  485 

Rivalry,  its  uses 173 

Romance 50 

Romans,  divorce  among 464 

Room-mates 170 

Rooms,  care  of,  at  school   167 

"       for  servants 349 

Rosemary,  use  of 487 

Rowdies,  embryo,  how  to  manage.  ...    168 

Rudeness 271,  382 

Rulers,  murder  of 515 

Rules  for  dress 299 

"      certain,  for  business 469 

"      great,  for  business  life 398 

Ruskin   212 

Runaway  matches 267 

s. 

Sabbath  books 245 

Salutland 58 

Scholarship,  its  limitations   49 

School  education   152 

"      ships 414 

Schools,  influence  of 153 

Sciences,  na'ural 144,145,  147 

Scotch  cousin,  a  story  of.  my 364 

Scrap  books 242 

Seamstress  work 81 

Seasons,  colors  for 3°7 

Self-consciousness 85,  185,  186 

"    control 179 

"    denial 133 

"    dissatisfaction 205 

"    education,  examples  of 135,   144 

"    examination 331 

Sentimental  age,  the 463 

Sewing 350 

"      materials 1 65 

Shadow  parties 264 


INDEX. 


Shaking  hands 293 

Ship,  building 

Shirts   

Shoddy 101,  418 

Shoemakers'  work 81 

Sidney  Smith,  admirable  advice  from. 
Signal  Service,  the 

Signature  marks  in  books 

Signatures 

Size,  apparent,  altered 

Skating in, 

Skepticism 

Skin,  its  structure 


PACK 
294 

4l8 

440 

494 

414 
420 
429 
306 
'95 
149 

63 

Skip 218 

Sleep 74 

Sleeping  in  church 272 

Sleighing  parties 194 

Slovens 315 

Small  talk  290 

Snow  cream 204 

Social  life,  its  end 208 

Socials,  church 1 89 

Societies,  literary 173 

Society,  too  much,  too  little.    183 

Soul,  school  for 169 

South  sea  bubble   47 1 

Specialists 210 

Spectator,  the 8l,  89,  134,  303 

Speculation 470,  471 

Spices 71 

Spoons  and  cups 278 

Sport,  its  limits  and  rules 1 06 

Spring 246 

St.  Pierre,  Bernardin  de 98 

Starvation 328 

State,  the,  as  a  parent 158 

Stenography ,  397 

Store-keeping  for  women :   371 

Store,  village,  a  new  Mars  Mill 18 

Stranger 20,  37,  527 

Strength,  its  right  use 42 


Studies,  pursued  at  West  Point 409 

Study,  private 132,  135,  137 

Stupidities  in  dress 310 

Success ....  339 

Sugar  parties 205 

Sunshine  as  a  remedy 59 

Supplies,  natural 33 

Surroundings  reflect  moral  nature. ...  168 

Surgical,  simple  requirements 165 

Suspicion 193 

Swindlers 192 

Swimming 109 


T. 


Table  outfits 208 

Tables,  display  on ; . . .    189 

Tableau  parties 200 

Tableaux 201 

Tact 289 

Taine  on  dress 307 

Taste,  good,  in  dress 305 

"      in  the  young 89 

Tastes,  exhibited 168 

Taxes  on  marriage 508 

Teaching  as  a  business  for  women.356,  358 

"         children  how  to  work 47 

"         Horace's  rule 102 

Teeth,  care  of 64 

Telegraphy 398 

Theatre 129 

Theories 148. 

Thoroughness 101,  440 

Time.',  spare 137 

Titles  given  to  children .  294 

Tobacco 71 

Toilette,  articles  for 322 

Tongue,  to  guard 286 

Training  of  sick-nurses 352 

Traps 264 

Travels,  cheap 46? 

Trowsers 321 


610 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Truth  and  light 135 

Twins 325 

Tyrants,  social 191 

u. 

Uncongenial  spirits 282 

Understanding  and  believing 517 

Unequal  marriages 269 

Uneven  numbers 44-6 

Unfairness  in  argument 515 

"          "  home  dealing 347 

Unhappy  faculties 430 

Ungraceful  positions • 285 

Unit,  the 461 

Unities,  the,  of  dress 301 

Unrest  of  soul 516 

Uproar  at  table 279 

Use  and  excess  in  dress 300 

Useful  dresses 302 

U.  S.  Mint 419 

U.  S.  Naval  Academy 410 

V. 

Vacations,  at  West  Point 409 

Valentines 261 

Valetudinarians 69 

Valor,  calmness  of 515 

Value  of  bees  in  the  U.  S 370 

"      "  children's  work 27 

"      "  poultry  in  the  U.  S 369 

"      "  pursuits,  to  judge 335 

Vandals  in  libraries 238 

Variety  of  food 70 

Veils,  wedding 488 

Ventilation  in  contagious  diseases 354 

Verdict  of  conscience 480 

Vice,  epidemic  nature  of 457 

Viciousness 289 

Victoria,  rules  of  Queen 461 

"       wedding  dress  of 486 

Vigor  in  old  age 420 


Vigor, religious 522 

Villains 121 

Virtues,  primary 94 

Void 154 

Votaries  of  science 519 

Vow  of  marriage 451 

Vox  populi 334 

Vulgarity 280 

w. 

Wars H3 

Washing,  for  sick-rooms 355 

Washington 93 

Watches,  wearing  of 319 

Water,  its  forms  and  work 244 

"      purity  of 65 

Wealth,  disadvantages  of 341 

Wedding  invitations 429 

Weddings 482 

West  Point,  life  at 408 

Whims  of  children 90 

Whiskey 71 

Whistling  in  public  places 280 

Wilberforce's  money  rule 468 

Will  power 72 

Wine  at  weddings 492 

"      and  wisdom 345 

Winter  and  its  work 132 

Wisdom 222 

Wire-pulling 4°9 

Women  and  business 371,  443 

"       as  farmers 361 

"       overplus  of 36° 

"       as  physicians 395 

"       their  work 89 

Words,  some  important 474 

Work 338 

"     seeking  for 43& 

Works,  perpetuity  of " 386 

Worth  of  a  soul 481 

Wrecking  one's  self 465 


INDEX. 


Writing  letters 256 

"           "     forms  for 430 

Wrongs,  moral 275 

Y. 

Yellow  fever 72 

Yoke-fellows,  true 475 

Young  man,  the  cost  of 481 


Young  people's  societies •  , 


West  Pointers. 


611 

PAGE 

444 
409 


"      women,  notable 374 

z. 

Zeal  in  best  things 511 

Zealots  in  infidelity 514 


INDEX  TO  BUREAU  MISCELLANY. 


Admission  to  P.  O.  Department. ....  581 

Alphabetical  investments 539 

Amusements,  family 527 

Answers  to  conundrums 590 

Answers  to  curious  questions 588 

Atwater,  Prof.,  food,  table 596 

B. 

Balancing  a  coin 545 

Balanced  egg 546 

Bill,  to  make  out  a 567 

Biography,  church 560 

Books,  for  Sabbath 553 

Bottled  egg 545 

Burlesque,  classic  dramas 545 

c. 

Candle,  to  eat  a 546 

Capping  hymns 557 

"       texts 556 

"        verses 529 

Caravan,  the 556 

Charades,  described 532 

Clerkships  in  War  Department 583 

Clubs,  reading 528 

Cooks,  the  little 551 

Conundrums 562 

Crab,  the  lady 586 


D. 

Dancing  dervishes 547 

Delicious  dollies 587 

Department  of  the  Interior 574 

Diagrams •. 544,  589 

Diviner,  the  trance 564 

Dwarfed  medium,  the 565 

•     E. 

Egg,  the  magic 550 

Enigmas,  Scripture 558 

Examination,  forms  of 576 

Explanation  of  paradoxes 590 

Eye-buff 537 

F. 

Flowers,  language  of 592,  594 

Flying  sticks 546 

Foods,  relative  values 594 

Form  of  bill 569 

Fox  and  geese 543 


Fun  at  home. 


562 


G. 


Game,  of  Scripture  numbers 554 

Games 535 

"  of  mesmerism  explained 591 

Goods,  bill  of 568 

"  order  for 568 

Gnome,  the 545 

Growing  medium,  the 564 


612 


INDEX. 


Ignorance 


I. 
J. 


Jack-straws 

Jargon  of  Wall  street.. 


543 
596 


La  defiance 535 

Lady's  maid,  the 541 

Language  of  flowers 592,  594 

"          "  Wall  street 596 

Latin  caps 530 

Laws  of  business 566 

Lease,  form  of  a 566 

Lemon  pigs 587 

M. 

Madame  Rumor 539 

Manufactures,  curious 586 

Mesmerism  for  the  parlor 563 

Mesmeric  spellers 565 

Mole,  the 542 

Money,  on  a  contract .« 567 

Mouse,  the 545 

Musicians,  the  mesmeric 565 

N. 

New  novelists,  the 540 

Noah's  ark 553 

Note,  form  of 567 

o. 

Obstinate  cards,  the 547 

Office,  Patent,  places  in 569 

Order  for  produce 568 

Orders,  money 568 

Owls,  peanut 586 

P. 

Parlor  magic 545 

Parlor  paradoxes 550 

Paul  Pry 538 

Poetasters,  the 540 

Porco 536 

Priest,  the 545 

Proverbs,  to  act 533 

Pun  charades 533 


Q. 

Queen's  birthday,  the $$2 

Questions,  curious 543 

Questions  for  Department  of  Interior 

clerkships 577 

Questions  for  examination  in  Patent 

Office... 


579 


R. 


Rabbit,  the 545 

Reading,  dramatic 528,  520 

Reading,  for  Sabbath 561 

s. 

Sabbath,  interests  of 552 

Scissors  crossed 542 

Schooling,  bill  for 567 

Selections,  for  reading 528 

Shadow  buff 536 

Sortes  Virgilianse $31 

Speculation,  dangers  of 599 

Spice  mill,  the  game  of 550 

Story-telling 553 

Straw  and  bottle 546 

T. 

Tableaux 534 

Ten  questions,  game  of 555 

Theatricals,  parlor 529 

Trance-guesser,  the 564 

Trance-reader,  the 563 

Treasury  Department 570 


Value  of  foods 594 

Varieties  in  food 594 

w. 

Wages,  receipt  for 567 

Wand-buff 537 

Water  witchery 547 

Whatwill  he  do  with  it? 537 

Words,  for  charades 532 

Whirlpool,  the 550 


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